Illusion
by Kage-Rebirth
Summary: Ever wonder why no one knows her family? Sakura has a secret. Living a lie, and no one can ever be allowed to know. But being normal is hard, and everyone slips eventually. Unfortunately this mistake will be deadly...
1. Default Chapter

First story ever. No wait don't leave! I'm not that horrible I promise! Just suffer for a few paragraphs, then you can quit.

Chapter 1: Exposition

* * *

All around her, young and old shinobi moved in a crowd, rushing for the solitary door and milling around the room. Making a pass for freedom, trying to be the first to escape the small, plain room. But she didn't notice them, although many were talking and shouting to each other from across the room. The pink-haired girl's head rested on her crossed arms on the desk and her breathing was deep and even.

In other words, she was asleep.

"Sakura-chan!" Hinata's quiet voice carried poorly over the noise. She made her way closer. In the five years since Tsunade became Hokage, Hinata had changed somewhat. She had grown out the hair that had been the cause of so much cruel teasing, so that it was more unruly and a little past chin-length, framing her face in dark purple strands. She had changed her pale sweater and dark pants to a t-shirt and jeans. Her child's body had changed into that of a young woman rival to Tsunade, but she was so quiet that no one noticed her attraction, and she took care to be as unalluring as possible.

Sakura didn't wake up. She twitched, but went right back to her dreams. She, too had changed; the short pink hair had grown to her waist, and her red dress was exchanged for a black one with dark purple shorts. Her figure hadn't changed much, except for a smaller waist and almost unnoticeable chest development. The most noticeable change was her eyes—no longer pale, jade green, they had darkened over the years to a deep emerald that sparkled like water and flashed dangerously when she was angry.

Hinata sighed. Sakura had been acting so odd lately; she seemed tired all the time, and she never seemed quite so cheerful. "Sakura-chan, get up," she said softly, touching her friend's shoulder.

Sakura's head snapped up and she looked around wide-eyed. "Huh? Oh! Hi, Hinata-chan!"

"Sakura-chan, class was out several minutes ago," murmured Hinata. "Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Sakura smiled brightly, a wide cheerful expression, and laughed. "I stayed up too late studying scrolls," she said sheepishly. "I found a really interesting jutsu—I can show it to you some time, next time we train together."

Hinata frowned. "Sakura-chan, we are training together _today._ Just like we do every other day. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the pink-haired girl said dismissively, waving a pale hand. "I'll see you at your house in a few minutes, okay Hinata-chan?."

"Are you sure you want to? You seem tired," said Hinata, determined not to inconvenience her friend. She clasped her hands in front of her.

"Of course!" said Sakura. "How will we become jounin if we never train? Come on, let's go."

"Neji-nii-san is home today," said Hinata. "I know you two didn't get along last time you met. Do you want to train at your house instead?" Her fingers started poking together.

"NO!" exclaimed Sakura, caught off-guard. At Hinata's startled jump, she said more calmly "I mean, uh…no, your house is better, Hinata-chan. You have actual training grounds." Sakura flipped her long hair, distracting Hinata by almost hitting her in the face with the waist-length tresses. "Sorry," she said.

"It's okay," said Hinata, spitting out a bit of hair that had stayed in her mouth. "Here, you can have this back." She stuck it to Sakura's nose, who squawked and batted it away. Laughing, she chased a shyly giggling Hinata out of the classroom and out of the school grounds.

Once off school grounds, they slowed down. They walked together toward the Hyuuga mansion, saying hello to several people they passed.

Naruto was arguing and shouting loudly at Sasuke, who poked him to egg him on but didn't actually reply.

"Bully," grumbled Hinata. "I know you used to like him, Sakura-chan, but I hate how he provokes Naruto-kun like that."

"Don't worry so do I," whispered Sakura. "But I figured out how to get him to stop."

"How?" giggled Hinata gleefully, looking slightly predatorial.

Sakura smirked. "Watch this." She stopped and held out her hands. Signing quickly, she muttered something too low for Hinata to hear.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

That's a shorter chapter than I wanted…darn. Oh well. It has a plot, I promise! And it does get more interesting. I have to set things up before I can twist and mess with them like no tomorr—I mean, uh that is…create an interesting plot -evil cackle-  
Sorry for the shortness, but the people in white coats are coming to take me to play with them in their padded rooms! Have to go!

Any suggestions/comments/willingness to beta are greatly appreciated. I have no access to any episodes, manga or otherwise, past where Sakura decides to enter the Chuunin exams. Therefore I have no way of knowing if a lot of these people are in character.

Kage


	2. The First Signs

_The First Signs_

My summary was rather long and didn't fit on the screen. To fix that, I'm putting the full summary inside right HERE. Until I figure out how to go back and edit chapter one, the summary is in chapter 2!

_"Ever wonder who her parents were? Sakura has a secret, and no one can ever be allowed to know. That means she had to be exactly like everyone else, from a crush on Sasuke to low stamina. For fifteen years, she kept it up, kept everybody fooled. But everyone slips eventually, and this slip could cost her a life…_

_Drama, romance if I feel like it (which I probably will), humor."_

Note for Chapter 2: Sasuke fans will all hate me after this...

Disclaimer-ish-thing:  
The nice people in white coats are trying to find me. We're playing hide-and-seek. I'm hiding, they're seeking….and I'm winning…for now….-darts glances around the room- Shh….I was never here…..and if I'm not here than obviously I own nothing but my insanity….which in fact owns me.

* * *

Ino yelled "Alright! Whoever did that, teach me later!" She was laughing so hard she nearly fell over.

She had reason to. Few people had ever seen Uchiha Sasuke run around like a terrified hen, screaming for someone to save him.

Chasing him in steady, determined hops was...dun dun DUN...a pink bunny.

Hinata and Sakura were having trouble breathing. Hinata's quiet, pretty tee-hees could be heard over Sakura's open laughter.

"That was a 'worst fear' jutsu combined with a humiliation-seal...I figured it out myself when I was looking at those scrolls last night" laughed Sakura, turning away so Sasuke wouldn't know it had been her. "Apparently his most embarrasing, worst fear is pink bunnies" She smirked at the thought that she had pretended to be obsessed with a boy whose worst fear was a pink rabbit. At least his going away had given her an excuse to "get over" him.

_HELL YEAH! _agreed Inner Sakura, watching the pink bunnies with sadistic maniacal laughter.

"Served him right," said Hinata through giggles. "He was picking on Naruto-kun."

Sakura glanced over at her. "Hinata-chan" she asked innocently"You don't still _like_ Naruto, do you"

Hinata turned pink and bowed her head, poking her fingers together and mumbling denials.

Sakura let up. "Don't worry, I won't tell" she promised, although she knew that anyone who saw Hinata would have to be a total idiot of they didn't notice her crush on the loud blonde. Which was probably why Naruto himself hadn't figured it out yet.

Hinata glanced at her watch. "If we hurry, we can get home before Neji-nii-san and train before he arrives. Maybe you two won't have to meet."

"Good idea" said Sakura. "Race you." They took off running, leaving behind a very confused Naruto, a hysterically laughing Ino, a sweatdropping Shikamaru, and an embarrased Sasuke (still running for his life, pursued by many fangirls and the incessant pink bunny).

Long story short (since I'm too lazy to describe it and the people in white coats will be chasing me soon) Sakura nearly won and was in fact almost ten feet ahead, but she stumbled suddenly and fell in a superman-dive into the dirt, face first, all at once aquiring several scratches, scuff marks, and a new appreciation for softer grass.

She didn't get up right away. She was so tired...she was always tired now. _Ugh...sleeping with one eye open sucks._ Her body was telling her quite firmly that lying on the hard dirt was much better than running over it. She sighed and held still for a few seconds, enjoying the brief rest even if it _did_ hurt.

Hinata didn't notice immediately. When she did, she stopped and ran back to Sakura's side, calling"Sakura-chan" worriedly, concerned that her friend wasn't moving.

"'M okay" mumbled Sakura. "Just tripped, that's all. Gimme a second." She pushed herself up and sat, rubbing the dirt off her face. "Ow." She stood up shakily, trying to hide her weakness from Hinata. The last thing she needed was someone to be worried about her; worried people asked questions.

Luckily for Sakura, Hinata was just as trusting as she was five years ago and took her at her word. "Okay, Sakura-chan. Father closed the regular dojo today-something about painting. We'll use the outdoor training grounds, the one with the garden."

(A/N: Does the manga ever show the inside of the Hyuuga property? I'm just making this up as I go)

"Sure" said Sakura absently. She followed Hinata inside, not really paying attention anymore. She was thinking of her home, whether she had put all her weapons away that morning or not. She couldn't remember...

"Haruno-san" A brisk voice snapped her out of her vague worries.

"Huh" she said intelligently, glancing around. In front of her, a woman in a light blue uniform was standing with hands on her hips, looking politely annoyed. "Oh" she bowed. "Sorry, Yumi-san! What"

The woman sighed. "Haruno-san, wake up. You aint never makin jounin if you always dreamin of Uchiha-san"

"Aiee! I haven't had a crush on Sasuke-kun for years" yelped Sakura.

Yumi was laughing at her. "Your face" she chuckled. She pulled a feather duster out of her pocket and left. (In case ya don't know, Yumi is an OC, she's the Hyuuga's maid since it makes sense they'd have one. Don't like her? Bite me. She's necessary. They already have one in the series? Well they retired as of right now.)

Sakura was flushed darkly. Hinata looked amused. "Come on, Sakura-chan. You're sure you want to train today" she repeated.

Sakura waved her off. "Yeah...jounin exams coming up soon...wanna be ready." She stood in the middle of the large dirt circle, stretching her arms over her head and taking a deep breath in an effort to wake up.

Hinata waited. "You said yesterday that I was doing something in sparring" she said. "What was it again"

Sakura thought for a second. "Oh yeah! It's your eyes. You blink every time I go for your face."

"Ok."

They both chose their starting stances. Yumi came out to watch after a minute and started refereeing enthusiastically, cheering one or both or yelling at them to keep their hands up or look behind them. She was like an entire crowd contained in one old woman.

Sakura wasn't doing well. Normally she could beat Hinata two out of three times, even when she used her eye thing (which I can't spell. Somebody tell me how and I'll fix it), but today she just wasn't with it. She accidentally turned her back on Hinata at least three times, missed by almost five feet throwing a stone, and was completely unprepared when Hinata came up behind her and poked her in the back.

After that, Hinata jumped away and stood still. Sakura waited for her to attack again, but Hinata shook her head. "Sakura-chan, I don't think we should train anymore today. I should greet Neji-nii-san, and you're tired."

"I'm fine" she protested. "I just stayed up late is all-I was studying"

"Bullshit" said Yumi. She stalked out and got right in Sakura's face, staring into her eyes from two inches away, towering over the kunoichi despite her amazingly short stature. "You tired, Haruno-san. I have kids, I know when they lyin. Get inside and I'll get you a sandwich, but you and Hinata-sama are done today."

Sakura blinked. Yumi was stubborn and bossy, and rather unpredictable. She knew that between Hinata's concern and Yumi's stubborn streak, there was no way they could keep sparring. "But...oh fine" she sighed. "Go on in, Hinata-chan. I'll be right there, I want to get the fade-out right..."

Hinata considered, thenturned politely to Yumi. "Yumi-san, would you please go inside and make Sakura-chan lunch? I'll make sure she comes in soon" she added at the dangerous look in Yumi's brown eyes.

Yumi looked suspiciously at Sakura, but after a second she turned and left.

"Okay, Sakura-chan, I'll help you with fading, but after that you have to take a break." Hinata walked back to her friend. Sakura had a habit of pushing herself past where she should have stopped and not taking care of herself when something was wrong.

Sakura sighed. "Thanks Hinata-chan." She walked over to a tree. "Show me again"

Hinata touched the bark, the pressed her back flat against the tree. Signing one-handed, she pressed herself tighter against the hard trunk. Within seconds, she had literally faded from view, leaving only the tree.

Which made it really weird when she decided to speak. "There's a variation that Neji-nii-san can do, it's a little different and harder. I don't know how yet though. When I learn I can show you."

"Thanks Hinata-chan" said Sakura, feeling weird addressing a tree. "I'll try now. Tell me if I get something wrong."

She strode up to a tree and leaned against it. Closing her eyes, she tried hard to mimick everything Hinata had done. She managed to become transparent, which if anything was weirder than talking to a tree that sounded like Hinata. When she opened her eyes, she swore vehemently and yelled "I still got it wrong"

Hinata sighed. It took a lot of stamina to perform the tecnique, but she didn't have the heart to tell Sakura that. _Let her dream about it. She'll get stronger one day; after all, I did. And one day, I'll defeat Hanabi...I will make Father respect me._ She shook herself out of her depressingly hopeful thoughts and un-merged with the tree, becoming visible again. She glanced down and sighed; her t-shirt, formerly pale yellow, was now a perfect dyed replica of tree bark.

Sakura became solid again with a defeated sigh and slumped down to the ground, head on her arms. Hinata offered her a hand and she stood again. Her eyes had darkened from emerald to nearly black and they were glazed and flat. She didn't seem to really see anything. Her movements were deadened.

Hinata bit her lip. Sakura had overextended herself; the only way to bring her back would be to make her sleep and eat, from the looks of her for several days. She put a hand under Sakura's arm and almost gasped. Her friend's dress wasn't as tight as the old one, and had hidden how thin the girl had become. There was muscle under Hinata's hand, but no fat and a very sharp bone. _No wonder she has no stamina-doesn't she ever eat at home? She's always so hungry when she stays here, I assumed she ate like that at home too!_

Chewingherpoor abusedlip, Hinata guided Sakura through the winding garden path and into the huge estate, leading her to the kitchen and sitting her down at the small table in the corner, talking to her the entire time. Sakura's answers were half-aware at best and entirely monosyllabic, and she never focused on anything.

Yumi took one look atSakura and swore so creativelyand fluentlyHinata was torn between taking notes for Naruto, laughing, and dying of embarrassment. "Hinata-sama, you said you'd bring her in afore she collapsed! Child, you may be 17, but your common sense sucks! Bring her here, yes right there, sit her down-Haruno-san! Wake up, you! Eat" She put a bowl of soup in front of Sakura and forced a spoon into her hand.

"Thanks Yumi-san" whispered Sakura. She started eating, unaware of the rest of the room. It seemed to take all her concentration to lift the spoon to her mouth and back to the bowl. When the bowl was empty, she poked it mindlessly with the spoon and brought it to her mouth anyway, stuck in the pattern.

Yumi pinched her, but Sakura didn't even jump. With an exasperated sigh, the maid took the spoon out of Sakura's limp hand and put a sandwich in it instead. Sakura raised it to her mouth and started nibbling, never actually taking a bite, but chewing the part in her mouth until it broke off and she could swallow it, then pushing more between her lips and repeating the sequence.

Yumi left after that. Hinata stayed with Sakura, wondering if she should just let her stay for the night. But she didn't have the Harunos' permission, and they might worry for their daughter.

Neji opened the front gate and walked inside, hands in his pockets and white eyes glaring at the flowers lining the ornamented path. He hated this place, hated how everything was always perfectly cared for, perfectly tended, perfect everything. He hated coming "home." It only reminded him he was forced to serve someone weaker than him, someone he could have crushed without thought had he been free.

He saw Yumi open the door and nodded once to her, all he would give in greeting. She said briskly "Hinata-sama has a visitor. If you want, the training ground's clear." Then she was gone.

He shook his head. His stomach grumbled suddenly and he glared at it, irritated at himself and the world in general that he hadn't eaten yet today. It was about six in the afternoon.

With a resigned grimace that faded as fast as it had come, he headed for the kitchen, intending to grab an apple and get out as fast as humanly possible and hope Hinata's visitor was a quiet person.

* * *

I can't believe someone reviewed! I'm taking exams right now, they're a pain in the butt...so anyway the point is I wrote this in a hurry and I thought I sucked, but people said they were reading it! Domo Arigato! I can't believe there are 8 of you! You are all so cool. Oh wait...9 of you! sweatdrop gimme a break, I don't have to think about anything math-related for a few days now that the geometry exam is over...hides in corner with Shiroari

I am posting the chapters at about 1/4 of the length I'm aiming for; honestly, I'm really sorry. I wanted to tell y'all Sakura's secret in this one. In the original (which my computer DELETED) several other things had already happened. If I was a reader, I would be pissed at me. Actually nevermind, I'm pissed at me anyway.

Now you can skip to the end because all I'm doing is replying to the people who bothered to say they read it!

_Magus Black-san:  
_Thanks for reading. If they do fix the review history, would you be so kind as to tell me how to use it?

_zero25-san:  
_Here's your update! Hope ya liked it! (If not, well...not my problem.)

_NJ gangsta-san:_  
...nice screen name. Here ya go!

_Mina-san_:  
Thank you. I do plan to make this a long story. (You can hide from the people in white with me...I've had practice)

_nonengel-san:_  
You don't have to say anything, just "I read it" is fine with me...I have low expectations in life.

_xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx-san:  
_(That was hard to type in the dark!) She does get stronger. That's part of the drama of this thing. Sorry, this isn't Sakura/Sasuke, but if you email me with details (genre, rating, length, etc.) I'll write one for ya! I'm glad you want to know her secret, that's the point of this...bwa haha. Thanks!...hm...chicken you say?...ponders hadn't thought about it. I can work that in...

_understar-san_:  
Domo Arigato! bows Without your email I never would have been able to post this next chapter! bows again in gratitude because I can You're very helpful!

_Umino Ayame-chan_:  
Ya well I know where you live too, Ayame!

_Hao'sAnjul-san_:  
Here's your update! Like what she did?

* * *

Thanks everybody...you made me smile, any idea how hard that is? (ask Ayame, she's seen me try...it's pathetic)

Until next time! Ja! (Oh yeah, and I broke my finger...because I am stupid and reckless and have to learn the hard way...so updates may take a few days due to the fact that I type SLOWER now...grumbles )

WARNING: I may up the rating to PG-13 or R if this idea goes where I think it might later. If someone has restraints and cannot read anything above PG, please tell me and I'll see to it that I keep a PG version of "Illusion" floating around.

Kinda pointless warning: I have no people skills. If I come off as rude, somebody tell me. I don't do it on purpose.

Kage


	3. Shadowed Path

_Shadowed Path_

I own Yumi and a cat that will enter later. That's it.

This isn't a Hinata-centric story, but she plays a large part in the first half so it may seem that way. This is focused on Sakura and the ruse she's been playing for half her life or more.

I am a little cranky. This chapter therefore may seem somewhat irritable, along with the characters in it.

* * *

Neji slipped into the kitchen like an icy breeze. As he entered, Hinata stiffened a little and started poking her fingers together, unable to look directly at him. He gave her a contemptuous glance and then ignored her. 

There was someone else in the room—a pink-haired girl he vaguely remembered. It had been a long mission; his memory took almost a second to match the hair and dress with a name. _Haruno. Always chasing that bastard Uchiha—no, that stopped a few years ago when he went on that stupid quest to kill his brother. Which they had to drag his sorry butt **home **__from._ He snorted softly in disgust.

Through the years, his relationship with Uchiha Sasuke had not warmed, and if they hadn't tried to kill each other yet, well, it would have been hard for Sasuke to make jounin with the entire Hyuuga clan after his blood, and was equally difficult for Neji to pass with half the girls in Konoha—several of which were talented jounin by now—hating him. So they left each other alone. Mostly.

But as he stopped near her shoulder, she didn't even glance up. She was eating her sandwich like a deadened robot, eyes glazed and body slumped. _I don't think the silly girl even knows I'm right here. Stupid cherry blossom should go play with dolls; she'll never be anything if she can't even notice someone right next to her._

He shook his head, disgusted but unsurprised. She had been a weak genin and barely made chuunin; he knew there was no way she would ever become a jounin. He glanced over at Hinata, who was watching him with a half-frightened, half-hopeful/welcoming expression.

"Neji-nii-san," she stammered. "H-how was your mission?"

He debated walking out, then settled for a curt shrug. He went to the fridge and looked around. After a few seconds he found some leftover soup, which turned out to be Yumi's special potato stew. He took the tin foil off and stuck it in the microwave.

Hinata looked like she was going to say something, but then closed her mouth. Neji scowled inwardly. His cousin angered him simply by living. The most prominent thorn in his side was that she was the weakest and still he had to serve her, but that wasn't the whole of it. She exuded frailty and seemed on the verge of breaking, as though if he yelled too loudly she might shatter into a thousand pieces and fall around him. An interesting thought, but he would never be able to try it. Which angered him more.

The microwave beeped. He took out the soup and didn't bother with a spoon; Yumi wasn;t there to yell at him and it was more interesting to just drink it anyway.

Sakura had finished eating and her head drooped nearly to the table. She looked like she was in a coma. She had no color except for her hair, which didn't even shine like it used to.

"Sakura-chan," said Hinata softly. "Sakura-chan! Wake up," she urged, pushing her friend's shoulder slightly.

At the touch, Sakura's head snapped up. For an instant there was panic in her eyes, panic and a helpless, caged-animal rage. But then she glanced around once and went back into her half-aware coma, emotion gone from her eyes. Hinata hadn't even noticed, but Neji raised an eyebrow slightly.

_What was that for?_ He watched her as Hinata helped her up, then decided he didn't care and went back to his soup.

Hinata followed Sakura out. "Sakura-chan!" Sakura was unaware. Hinata sighed; she really didn't want to…but it seemed the only way to help her friend.

_Crack._

Sakura didn't make a sound; a red handprint showed on her cheek. Hinata yelled "Hey!"

Sakura seemed to jerk awake. "Oh—oh no was I drifting off? Sorry Hinata-chan—ow…" she suddenly rubbed her face, giving her a reproachful look.

"Sorry Sakura-chan." Hinata mumbled. She took Sakura's arm at the door, holding her back. "Sakura-chan I don't think you should go home tonight," she said in a rush.

Sakura blinked. "What?"

"Stay here. You're tired. We can have a sleepover; maybe Ino and TenTen would like to come too."

"Oh Hinata-chan, I'm fine. Really. It's okay, I don't live far away. I'll make it. And I'll go right to bed okay? I promise." Sakura smiled tiredly.

Hinata sighed. She couldn't help it; she wasn't able to stand up to Sakura even though it went against her common sense, intuition, training, and any other thought in her head that Sakura should go home. She was obviously not up to it. "Okay…at least let me go with you."

"No, Hinata-chan. Stay here. Neji-san just got home, you two should talk."

_She must be _really_ tired,_ decided Hinata, _if she thinks we're going to talk._

Before she could think of another argument, Sakura slipped out of her weak grip walked out. Her gait was tired and dragging, but at least her head was up now.

Hinata went back inside, but she couldn't stop thinking about her friend. She sat restlessly at the table with Neji, trying to find a comfortable position on the hard chair. Finally Neji got fed up with her squirming and snapped "Just go after her, then!"

Hinata sighed loudly. "I can't. I have to stay here tonight. Hanabi is sick and Yumi needs help." She was quiet and then burst out—well, burst out by her standards since it was still rather quiet— "I wish she'd just stay here!"

Neji shuddered. _I hope not. That's exactly what I want, a girly little wannabe ninja living in the same house as me. Well, another one anyway. No thanks._

"Neji-nii-san," said Hinata after a moment. He didn't look up. "Please go after Sakura and make sure she's okay."

Now he looked up, but it was to glare at her. "I'm eating."

The sensible remark seemed to annoy Hinata—something he never thought possible. "I said move it!" she snapped. She grabbed his soup bowl. "I'll warm it up for you when you get back."

He thought about protesting—he had some dignity, after all—but felt his forehead twinge, and he was too surprised by her anger to really say anything. _Dammit._ Rudely, he shoved away from the table and stalked out.

Once outside, he glared at the ground. Muttering, he decided to just use his Byakugan (sp?) and find her.

"Byakugan."

He looked around again. How odd…he couldn't see any chakra that belonged to Haruno. He frowned. _This is impossible. Her footprints go this way and there's no way she ran...I should be able to see her—where is she?_

He followed her trail with growing irritation. His annoyance only increased when a big fat raindrop hit him right in the eye just as he looked up. He clenched his teeth and continued, knowing that the rain would increase soon and make tracking Haruno even more of a royal pain. _Damn her. Why can't she just realize when she's useless and go home before becoming a burden? Stupid girl._

He tracked her all the way out of Konoha, across one of the many bridges to a forest that no one entered anymore. It wasn't on any maps; no one really wanted to be reminded it was there anymore. The Forest of Shadows wasn't precisely haunted, but it was creepy enough in there that it was generally avoided. The trees were tall and old, giving off an ancient aura that might have been awe-inspiring or serene in any other wood. But here it seemed almost ominous, warning. A dark foreboding song was almost heard like a far-off music that was sensed with the mind but no clearer than white noise, making those near it edgy and uncomfortable. At least half of them were aged and twisted, like tortured souls reaching for the sky in a futile effort to straighten. Some were straight and proud with high branches spread wide, but even those seemed only to be trying to ward off visitors by looming high above one's head.

Neji would never have admitted it to anyone else in his life, but a shiver ran down his spine at the edge. It was an almost palpable energy given off by the trees and the deep shadows between them, raising subconscious alarms in the back of his mind, stirring an old wary instinct that he couldn't identify but couldn't ignore either. Cliché as it was, the Forest of Shadows was creepy.

He stood for about half a minute there, thinking. But the rain decided him; it was falling harder now and the clouds were getting a dangerous green-purple underneath. _Whatever she did, she can either handle herself—_he smirked; that wasn't too likely—_or she can just take whatever comes her way. Stupid little girls are not my responsibility._

Neji refused to even think he might be afraid of the forest. Without a backward glance, he turned away and ran all the way back through Konoha to the Hyuuga household, not even breathing hard when he got there, soaking wet from the growing thunderstorm.

Hinata was waiting, warmed soup in her hands. "Did you find her?" she asked anxiously.

Neji shook his head and took the soup.

"I thought you was some great shinobi," scolded Yumi, popping up and scaring the crap out of him. "Why can't you track one little girl?"

"Lost her trail," he muttered, angry at himself for jumping, at Yumi for making him jump, at Hinata for sending him out after Haruno, at Haruno for being a flake, and at Yumi for existing at all and not only refusing to be daunted by him in any way, but actually intimidating him nine times out of ten that he saw her. Plus he was dripping and getting cold, which didn't make things any better. All in all, he was not a happy boy.

Hinata sighed. "Yumi-san, I'm going to go see to Hanabi…she seemed to be getting better."

"With luck thatbrat will stay sick for a month," muttered Yumi under her breath, but no one heard her.

Outside, lightning flashed in an awesome jagged tear in the sky and thunder drowned out anything else Yumi said. The power flickered, then went out.

* * *

Once again, I really meant to tell you Sakura's secret in this chapter! –smacks self- Next chapter I promise! It will be entirely on Sakura's secret! 

Oh yeah. I realize that authors who reply to reviewers on the bottom of each chapter are annoying to many readers. I'm sorry, but these people took the time to review, I should take the time to answer their questions. Plus it's really amazing when you realize someone's reading. Even if it's a flame -

So skip to the bottom now 'cause I'm repling, k?

_Hao'sAnjul_-san:  
Thanks I enjoyed writing it! (The chapter too.) That was a fast review! How did you do that?

_nonengel_-san:  
If it makes you uncomfortable I can stop using it...Yumi is supoosed to be scary, and someone will try to cross her eventually. I assure you they regret it. I modeled her off a very formidable person I know...  
Thank you! It will get better, thanks for saying so.

_joann_-san:  
OK! Here ya go hope you liked it!

_Sasuke Is Mine_-san:  
Damn. I had hoped to get through this without getting flamed.  
I realize that Sasuke is OOC. It adds to the humor. And I warned Sasuke fans at the beginning of the chapter.  
In the future, CONSTRUCTIVE criticism is greatly appreciated. "Your story sucks" is not particularly helpful should I wish to improve it.

_mad-killer-bunnies-alert_-san:  
I love your screen name; it rivals Rachel-chan's for originality. Thank you very much! I'm glad you laughed. Especially since this didn't start out as humor; I was going to make it drama/romance.

_animEyivvErz_-san:  
I try not to let people down. Any suggestions or ideas would be great.

_Phoe-chan-_san:  
Well, this is my first time writing humor. My stories are normally very dark, angsty, or sort of bitter. "Illusion" actually wasn't supposed to be funny at all, it was going to be drama. But someone read and told me it was funny. -shrugs- So, it says humor. Thanks for reviewing, though.

_understar_-san:  
Thank you! I'm glad you think it's good, since without your help I wouldn't have known how to post it. Is there an online something or other where I can read the manga?

_xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx_-san:  
Congrats on being free, I share your joy -grumbles: finally...- And even if it was a dare, I like the chicken idea. I'll use it later if I get writer's block. Maybe if...-goes off mumbling ideas-

_atrdies_-san:  
Thanks. -bows- I will continue with it! I do not drop things...unless they're made of glass. Then it seems I can't hold onto them at all. -U

_aNiMeaNgEl_-san:  
Thank you! Here's your update I hope you're still reading.

* * *

If anyone is worried, there will be more humor later. I hope. There will be at least one incredibly funny chapter, if for no other reason than to make up for all the more serious ones heading your way.

OK That's all for now! I am leaving for about two weeks now. I will get to a computer if I can, but don't get your hopes up. Sorry, hope y'all are are patient...

-Kage and her cat.


	4. Secrets Part 1

Ok, I said two weeks but...um...it kinda turned into a month or so...oops. -sweatdrop-  
Er...anyway...I'm back now! And to make up for it, I have a rather short chapter, but the next one is long and already half-written, so it should only take a few days. Hope nobody was pulling out hair waiting...

**Disclaimer**: If I owned it, you would know, many people in Japan would be pissed, and a few characters would have serious attitude adjustments...but since I don't, you may all sleep safely. For now...

* * *

_Chapter 4: The Secret_

Sakura knew she should never have stayed at Hinata's for as long as she had. She knew she was tired, knew she was nearing the end of her strength. _I should have come home a long time ago. But there's no way I'll stop training with Hinata; we both need it._

_Even if it kills you?_ Said a soft part of her mind, a gently insinuating voice.

She shoved it away. _It won't kill me! I know better than that!_

But the voice had one last comment before fading away._ It might not need to...if you're too tired to fight IT away._

"Stupid conscience," she mumbled, lips barely moving. She was barely out of sight of the Hyuuga's place. If she hadn't been so tired, she might have sighed in resignation as she forced her tired body to move faster, willed her legs to move and her feet to push, until she was jogging clumsily. Then, with the hidden will no one credited her with, she pushed herself past what should have been her farthest limit, into a fast run that carried her numbly over the ground in great leaps that she was too tired to see.

She knew the way home; it was a good thing too, because she was letting her feet guide her now. She was getting too tired to even think. _I thought I was getting stronger but...I can't keep staying up all night. Sooner or later this is going to catch up with me...and at this rate, it's going to be sooner._

She couldn't let that happen. But she couldn't see a way out, either. If she stopped going home and stayed with Hinata or Ino, people would ask questions. She couldn't afford questions, not now, when she was had been too mind-numb lately to fend people off as deftly as she had to, as well as she used to be able to.

If anyone found her out, her life would be over. She wasn't sure exactly what would happen, but she knew that it would be almost impossible to continue training to be a jounin. She would never be left alone, would become as notorious as Naruto or Sasuke. That was the last thing she wanted.

_What if they didn't even let me stay anymore? Konoha would be completely within its rights to just chuck me out..._

Even the Hokage had had no idea of the irony he had created when he placed her on Sasuke and Naruto's team. He would have had no way to find out; she never told anyone anything of herself. Never once had she offered any information other than her name, never shared dreams (beyond the cover-up ones of having Sasuke, of course) or hopes or especially anything of her life.

Sasuke had given her a good long dressing-down once, for having a family. He had told her that being scolded never compared to being alone. That no matter how bad it was, at least they were there.

_He would be right—it is usually better to have a dysfunctional family than none. But then—I wouldn't know._

Sakura ran all the way to the edge of the forest. She didn't dare pause, knowing that as soon as she did she would collapse. And if she collapsed, if she didn't make it home...she would die.

_Just a little farther,_ she promised her tired body. _Come on, just a little more. It's not that much further...a little more._

Branches whipped her face, scratched her skin. Occasional thorns tore her dress, left angry red marks anywhere not covered by the cloth. She didn't even notice.

What finally woke her up was the stream. She had been completely blind and deaf with fatigue, her body numb. In hindsight, it was a wonder she didn't drown.

Sakura ran right off the edge of the bank, falling two feet into shallow water. She hit face-down, the remaining wind knocked out of her. She coughed and felt the water invade her lungs. The shock of the cold and the instinct to breathe snapped her awake, and without thinking she sat up and coughed the water out of her chest, reaching back and pulling the hair out of her eyes.

Looking around, she saw what had been her goal, hardly twenty feet away.

Almost every tree in the Forest of Shadows was enormous, beating out even the massive trees of the 44th training arena. They loomed overhead like natural mini-skyscrapers, proud and forbidding.

But one tree was magnificent even over the others around it, towering over its brethren in graceful ancient beauty. It seemed almost peaceful, radiating the faint aura of the old who have realized the meaning and balance between life and death.

The trunk was at least twenty or thirty feet wide, not counting where it widened before merging into the ground. Roots pierced and arced upward around it, some of them growing over the banks of the stream right into the flowing water's current.

Gritting her teeth, she dragged herself toward it. She didn't get out of the water; the slight buoyancy it lent her would probably make the difference between passing out and going just a few more yards.

High in the branches, impossible to see unless you knew it was there, was a small broken-down shack. It was almost completely held up by the natural cage of branches it was built inside, sagging tiredly in the U where one of the central trunks split into five. It reminded her of an old war veteran, wounded and weakening but stubbornly refusing to die. Clinging to life and standing as straight as it could, an old tired pride that it hadn't fallen yet, a refusal to go down.

In its own way, Sakura's home put up as much as a fight as she herself did.

She didn't dare stop to rest when she reached the first of the roots that grew into the water. Not even for a second, knowing that if she paused now she would never start again, at least not for a day or more. So she strained on, gaining a few inches a minute or so.

Half an hour later, her hand brushed the actual trunk of the tree. She used it as a crutch, pulling herself up and then sagging against it. Her breath stung her throat and her lungs were beyond fire. When she tried to rub her eyes, her hands were shaking so badly she poked herself in the nose four times before just giving up.

She closed her eyes and looked inside herself, trying to find any remaining chakra. There was a little bit, a _very_ little bit. It was about all she could spare before going into a coma.

Opening her eyes, she concentrated and sent about a third of what remained to her feet. Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke had all been shocked when she mastered tree-climbing so fast as a genin. Of course, none of them had known she already used it every day, forced to learn it on her own years before. Survival was a fast teacher, and no one had ever called Sakura slow.

Sakura started to walk up the tree, almost falling several times. She pushed herself hard, knowing it would be a matter of seconds before she passed out. One hundred fifty feet later, she blacked out and slipped.

Luckily for her, she had reached the shack. She fell against the door, collapsing half-in with an arm and a leg dangling into space. If she had energy left, she might have cried in relief; she was home! She hadn't fallen to a squishy, undoubtedly painful death! Sakura wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and stay there forever.

But sense reasserted itself in a flash. She still wasn't safe. She pulled herself inside with an almost-silent grunt and kicked the door closed. She whispered the seal that would lock it, seeing the faint blue glow that meant the protective seals all over the suspended hut had been activated.

Then the will that had sustained her twice as far as a normal person would have gone finally left her, and she passed out where she lay.

* * *

Yeah...told ya it was short. I have discovered writer's block at long last...actually I'm surprised it took me this long. Anyway, heads up for the next badly-written excuse to torture uh that is, -nervous laugh-, the next chapter. 

And now you may all skip to the bottom because I'm replying to people again. I think this is the last time I'll do it though, I'm going to start listing people who reviewed instead. Hope nobody minds.

* * *

_understar_-san  
Um the site link didn't show up...no idea why. Glad I've been keeping it realistic, since I have no idea what anyone is like exept...no wait, nevermind, I'm really just guessing . 

_xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx_-san  
I've been trying to tell you her secret since Ch. 1, but something always comes up...(actually you still don't know all of it)

_mad-killer-bunnies-alert_-san  
You welcome? Ch. 3 was irritable because I was cranky...now I am in a slightly better mood...still rather angsty, but I can't put that in "Illusion" yet. I like reading rampages...they're amusing.

_figurechan_-san  
Here's your update, I'm so glad you like it! Wow you figured me out fast...

_NJGangsta_-san  
Yay, you like it! -bows- This isn't the whole secret though. There is more to come...

_waterfox96_-san  
Here's your update!

_Sasuke Is Mine_  
Are you reading this story for flame practice?

_frostfoxfire_-san  
Does that mean you like it? Here's the next chapter, and no way is it better than yours, your story is awesome!

_Millie-chan_-san  
I'm sorry if you think I was too hard on Sasuke in Ch. 2. It's kind of an inside joke and I needed to make fun of someone. I have nothing against him, he was just an available target.

_lostfreakfound_-san  
Did I already tell you I liked your screenname? If not, it's amusing...anyway. Thanks for reviewing...I understand with the chocolates point taken, but you shall have to wait for the pairing I feel like making! (which varies with the hour of morning/night I'm writing in...-sweatdrop-)

_Yohko_-san  
Er...peace out to you too? Thanks for not handing me over to the nice people in white...-hands over a ball of yarn-...knock yourself out.

_Dagorwen of Ithilien_-san  
Here's your update...hope I spelled your name right.

_Magus Blank_-san  
Glad to hear it sounds right. Good to hear from you again, hope you have more free time.

_neu chi no nai u_-san  
Here's your update! Is it rude if I ask if your name means something?

* * *

Woohoo! Another crappy chapter, over! Hope you didn't suffer too much! I've just about had it with trying to write humor though...I think I'm going to end up just saying "screw it" and changing it to drama. 

Kage

(and her cat.)


	5. Sorry, it's necessary

Chapter 5: Filler

**Disclaimer: If I said I owned this, how many of you would actually sue me?...didn't think so.  
**(_Ayame_: I would...  
_Kage_: Shut up before I write you into a locked box. With Shiroari to keep you company.  
_Shiroari_: -sharpens claws-  
_Ayame_: 0.o...)

Uh ignore that...sugar is so much fun...-sweatdrop-...um...

Most people follow up "part one" with "part two." Not me! I'm not nearly so compatible...hehe.

* * *

When Sakura woke up again, something felt wrong. She opened her eyes and looked around the dark interior of the shack, wondering what it could possibly be.

When it finally hit her, she swore and tried to sit up abruptly. Bad move. The fast movement gave her a headache worse than any hangover, and her body made it clear that it didn't feel like doing anything yet. With another, much softer curse, she grabbed her head and held still until the pain faded, wondering how in hell she had let herself sleep until noon.

_Something could have happened! It could have come by again, and there would have been nothing I could do about it! What if someone had tried to get in? _

But no one had even been near her tree; the seals, half of which would disappear if they were touched by anyone but her or any jutsu whatsoever, were undisturbed.

With a sigh, she _slowly_ sat up and looked around, still holding her head with one hand.

The inside of the shack was small, barely big enough that she could lie down, and if she grew much taller it would become very hard to get a good night's sleep. _Not that I'm getting one now; too much to worry about._

Despite falling apart, it was as clean as Sakura could make it, free of mold, dust, or any bugs that would have come to live in her home had she been less vigorous in keeping them away. _There has to be an anti-bug jutsu. I'll ask Shino-san later if he knows one. If he doesn't, those little maggots are _still _going to have hell to pay when I find out how to create one..._

There wasn't much inside. Against one wall, in air- and water-proof boxes, scrolls were stacked. The boxes were halfway to the ceiling, and almost completely full except for one, which could probably hold one or two more of the precious documents.

Another wall had a small cupboard nailed to it, with three shelves above it. Inside the cupboard were a plate, chopsticks, and a few apples and three crackers. One shelf held her pajamas and an extra dress and shorts. The next one up, about on level with her head when she stood, was almost completely empty. The top shelf had a small wooden box with a lock, about two feet long and one foot high.

Sakura's eyes went to the middle shelf. The only thing there was a picture frame, a pretty silver one with cherry blossoms blooming out of one corner to trail graceful twigs down the top and one side. The picture inside it was of four people, one much taller than the other three.

Team #7 grinned at her from behind the glass, caught on a sunny day on the bridge. Kakashi was finishing his 'why-I-was-late' speech, Sakura smiling at Ino who was taking the picture, Naruto was making a peace-sign with his huge grin, and even Sasuke was smiling a little, hands shoved in his pockets.

With a sigh, Sakura stood up slowly and then leaned abruptly against the wall. _Damn. Now I remember why chakra overuse can be so bad...this is SO much worse than a hangover..._

She decided holding still sounded like a wonderful plan at the moment and proceeded to follow it for about five minutes.

When she glanced at an apple, her stomach protested so violently she was nearly sick. _Yep. WAY worse than a hangover. I will never tease Kakashi-sensei again when he drinks too much...ow..._

She reached up and pulled a pair of shorts and a dress off the shelf. With a yawn, she pulled down a small backpack and stuffed them in it. She turned around and made it all the way to the door before she realized that in order to get _out_ of her house, she had to use even more chakra.

_Shit...in hindsight, there are drawbacks to being cautious. _She groaned softly and sat down, chin in her hands as she stared at the closed door in front of her. _I'm going to buy some rope when I get to Konoha. A long one, with knots in it. I don't care if someone could climb up it, there is no way I'm using chakra every day when I feel like this._

_You wouldn't feel like this if you were stronger,_ sneered that same little inner voice.

__

_Shut the hell up, we're trying!_ Snarled Inner Sakura. The little voice cowered in a dark corner.

Sakura sighed. The first opinion had probably been right...no matter how hard she tried, no matter how much she improved, Naruto and Sasuke were still stronger than her. And they didn't even seem to have to _try_ anymore; everything came so easily to Sasuke, and Naruto had so much energy all the time that he made anything look simple even when he actually failed, which was becoming rarer and rarer.

_Why do I even try? I'll never hold a candle to them. They're so strong, good at everything they do. What am I? Just the stupid little girl, the tag-along. Not even good enough for her parents to stick around—_

She suddenly jerked. Inner Sakura had protested so violently to that last thought it had felt like a physical slap.

__

_Your dad being an asshole of a bum was not your fault!_She yelled, flames in her eyes.

_So? What about after he left? I couldn't get _her_ to stick around, either! Try and tell me that that wasn't my fault either! Even my mother called me weak!_

There was no reply to that, since the only possible retort would have hurt both of them. Sakura felt tears forming in her eyes and angrily forced them down. Abruptly she stood up, ignoring the pain in her head. It wasn't anything more than she deserved, after all. She was too weak to do anything.

Using her anger and frustration as energy, she forced chakra into her feet and jumped, stubbornly waiting until the last possible moment to reach out and touch the tree with her feet. The bark cut into her skin (she'd forgotten to put on her shoes, which had tumbled after her and now waited on the forest floor) and she felt herself bleed a little.

She walked down the tree and then, about fifteen feet from the ground, let go. She landed in a crouch, knuckles barely resting on the leaves and grass, and held it for a moment before picking up her shoes and pulling them on. Looking up at her home, she made four signs and whispered one word. There was a small blue light and the door to her home closed, then the light disappeared. Satisfied that her house was protected again, she set off the path toward Konoha.

Now that she was awake enough to appreciate it, the forest around her was truly beautiful. The trees, tall guardians, stood in dignity against the wind that was all that remained of last night's storm, their leaves whispering to each other in a hissing conversation understood by no one but them, a secret language that seemed almost magical when you listened.

The various animals here had long ago gotten used to Sakura, and she was able to see things that many elite ninja had only heard of, and although nothing approached her, they didn't run away either when her path got close to theirs.

A few things, of course, were still to be avoided, mostly the larger creatures with matching appetites, but Sakura knew by now how to stay away from them.

Within twenty minutes of walking about as fast as most people jogged, Sakura neared the edge of the Forest. She stopped behind a relatively small tree (only about four feet wide) and peered around it, making sure no one was watching. There was no one there, so she stepped out into the sunlight.

It hurt her eyes and she squinted as she walked along the narrow, old road. As she neared the actual village, she paused for a moment to make sure her face was smiling a little and her head was high, focusing on building the sweet mask everyone expected to see. When she was sure her expression and body language was perfect, she strolled into Konoha, heading right for the bath house.

When she got inside, the first thing she did was go over to the wall where Jiraiya always peeked and stuff an extra towel in the tiny hole there, almost invisible from inside.

She could hear several outraged, very quiet muttered curses and held still for a minute to listen to the Pervert-Sennin's creativity.

_So this is where Naruto learned that one...I'll have to talk to him later about teaching THAT to him...oh that one's new, I'll remember it for later...whoa! Too much! Hey, that one's kinda funny..._she bit back an actual giggle as she turned away and stripped, climbing into the hot water.

Because it was so late in the day, there were no other women bathing. As Sakura gratefully soaked her sore self in the water, she berated herself again for allowing herself to sleep. _I won't be able to go there today...I hope they don't kick her out, I've been so behind..._

She sighed. Today was going to be very, very long...

****

****

**Two hours later**

Sakura looked up from coiling the rope she'd bought, hearing someone call her name. She was sitting on a small swing, the only person in the whole playground.

"Hey, forehead girl, I see you _still_ haven't made any friends," mocked Ino in fake-snobbishness (A/N: is that even a word?) as she ran closer.

"Shut up, pig, I have lots of friends," she retorted, sticking out her tongue. Ino grinned.

"I brought you something," she said, tossing Sakura a small package.

"Oh! Thanks, Ino-chan," said Sakura. She started to unstick the tape, then glanced up and said "Do I open this now or later?"

Ino shrugged, tossing her shoulder-length ponytail behind her. "Doesn't matter, I guess. But I _would_ like to see what it is...it's from Hinata-chan."

_Hinata? Oh no, I haven't seen her yet today...I have to go over there later, she'll think something's wrong. What if she tries to find me?_ Sakura apprehensively opened the package.

Inside were some energy bars, several cookies that she recognized as Yumi's chocolate chip, and a note.

"Hey, those look good!" exclaimed Ino.

"Want one?" she asked absently, unfolding the note.

"Nah, I'm on a diet. Again. Thanks though, I have to leave anyway. Dad wants me at the shop. Stop by later, okay?"

"Sure, Ino-chan...see you later..." Sakura had stopped paying attention to her friend, bending her head to read the note.

_Sakura-chan:  
Eat all the cookies, Yumi put vitamins and stuff in them. Please call me when you get this, I am worried about you. You haven't been acting like yourself lately, Sakura-chan. Are you sick? You never take care of yourself.  
_—_Hinata _

Sakura regarded the cookies. She didn't have a phone. Maybe she should get a cell phone and put it up there?

__

_Ha, right, and of COURSE there's cell-phone service in the Forest of Shadows!_ snorted Inner Sakura. Sakura sighed and chose to ignore her.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Konoha's Number One Loudest Future Hokage waved wildly at her. Sakura glanced up and waved back, less energetically.

"Hi Naruto," she said as he came within normal hearing range instead of shouting distance.

"Sakura-chan, guess what? Yesterday Sasuke-yaro was chased by a pink bunny!"

"Naruto, don't name-call." She stifled a yawn, wondering why she was suddenly tired again. Seeing Naruto, instead of picking her up, was making her feel worse.

Looking at him, sensing the immense power and potential within him, only reminded her of how weak she was. How worthless, and she had to keep _being_ worthless, just to fit in...and maybe that was the worst part, was that she knew she COULD be stronger...if only...

"Sakura-chan, did you eat yet?" asked Naruto, frowning when her stomach complained.

"Oh. Um...no," she admitted, distracted out of her depressing thoughts. She could have lied, but her stomach would have given her away anyway.

"Come on, let's go get some ramen! My treat," he added, seeing the dubious look on her face.

"It better be. I know how much you can eat," she said.

"Let's go then!" He grabbed her hand.

Pulled off the swing, Sakura was dragged along behind Naruto for several seconds before gathering herself up enough to run on her own. Clutching the package under one arm, she caught up with and passed Naruto, sticking her tongue out at him as she flew by.

"Hey! That's not nice!" He complained, putting on an extra burst of speed to make up for it.

Sakura found the energy to laugh at him, looking over her shoulder with a pretty smile that wasn't even entirely feigned.

_Whump._

Sakura smacked into something hard, like hitting a stone wall, bounced backward and almost landed on her butt, catching her balance at the last second. Neji wasn't so lucky; he fell over, covered in cookies. Sakura gasped.

"Sorry Neji-san! I didn't see you!" she knelt down to help him up, but he slapped her outstretched hand away roughly. Sakura concentrated on picking up the cookies instead of trying to help again.

When they were all gathered back in the little box, she looked up to apologize again to Neji, who had already stood up by then.

The sun was behind him, making him into a tall dark silhouette, only his eyes still clearly definable through the glare. She wasn't sure which was more painful to look at—the sun behind him or the hidden anger in his eyes.

Sakura didn't look away, although the apology died on her lips. Something about his eyes, just like Hinata's and yet so different, compelled her to keep staring into them. She felt like if she just looked long enough, there was a secret she could learn, something he hid from everyone that could be unlocked if someone found the right key...just like her.

A breeze stirred half-heartedly, lonely and silent. It wrapped around them, whispering through Sakura's hair and rippling Neji's ponytail.

Naruto skidded to a halt, breaking the moment. "Sakura-chan, are you all right?" he asked urgently.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said distractedly.

Neji muttered something under his breath. Naruto yelled "What was that?"

But Sakura had heard. Her eyes flashed and hardened suddenly, intensifying into a determined emerald glare. Her chin jutted up and she stood abruptly, her defiant stare never wavering, although the coldness and bottled anger in Neji's eerie white eyes compelled her to look away, look down, duck her head, to do anything but keep glaring at him like she was his equal.

__

_Once a weakling, always a weakling, huh?_ snarled Inner Sakura. Flames filled her eyes and her hands were raised and fisted in front of her. _I'll KILL that bastard!_

"Watch it, Neji-san," she hissed softly, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be a weak little girl who had barely achieved Chuunin-rank.

"Hmf." He disregarded her completely, pretending to just shrug her off as he turned away. "Watch where you're going. The least you could do is get out of the way when someone stronger is trying to walk ."

Inner Sakura wanted to haul off and give him the tongue-lashing of his life, or at least smack him a few good times, but Outer Sakura regained control of herself and quickly suppressed her anger. Haruno Sakura was not supposed to be an angry girl. She was always forgiving.

Naruto wasn't as content with a few satisfying images of Neji twitching in pain on the ground as Sakura was, and opened his mouth to start yelling. Sakura quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

"Drop it, Naruto," she ordered. He glared after Neji and then indignantly at Sakura, but after a second he let it drop.

"Stop letting people walk on you like that, Sakura-chan. He's a jerk."

"I know, Naruto," she said distantly, watching him leave. _He did have one thing right...I'm really not very strong._

__

_Then show him! BECOME strong! We'll show everyone!_ vowed Inner Sakura.

_If I suddenly became stronger...a lot of people would notice. I can't draw attention,_ she argued sadly.

_No one has to know,_ pointed out Inner Sakura.

Sakura blinked._ Of course...no one knows where I live, how would they find me training? I can become as strong as I want,_ she realized, feeling a sudden rush. _I can become as strong as I want!_

She almost laughed. She was suddenly pulled out of the sadness of her morning, almost giddy with the sudden knowledge that what no one knew didn't matter. It wouldn't hurt so much to always _act_ weak as long as she herself knew she was so much better—that she wasn't worthless.

"Come on Naruto, let's go eat ramen," said Sakura. She took off with a new speed, leaving the poor confused, well-meaning blonde in the dust behind her.

****

****

****

****

**At the Ramen Place**

Naruto was on his fifth or sixth bowl of ramen when a little boy in the street tripped over the ball he'd been playing with. He fell remarkably hard and Sakura knew there would be a really impressive bruise on his butt later.

_Bruise...hospital...oh no! I forgot! _Thinking of the hospital jolted her memory and she stood up before she'd finished her ramen. "Naruto, I just remembered something I have to do. Thank you for lunch, I'll see you around." With no other explanation and without giving him time to ask for one, she turned and walked quickly out, breaking into a run the moment she was hidden from view of the ramen shop. She headed for the hospital; seeing the bruise forming had reminded her of something that needed to be done...

She didn't approach the front of the hospital or the emergency exit. Instead she climbed the roof of a building a few blocks away and snuck closer like a thief. On the second story of the patient-housing section was a window, open to catch the breeze.

The window had bars. Sakura slipped up next to it and then pulled a small envelope out of her bag. Cautiously, she rapped on the bars with a kunai, making a hard clinking noise.

When she heard noise inside, she quickly hid the weapon. A woman came to the window. Her hair was mostly a dull yellowish-white, except for a few strands that might have been considered a lightish red, like a brick. Her eyes were milky and clouded with age, obviously blind or nearly so. She was yelling at the moment, at whoever was bothering her. The hospital gown she was wearing draped over her wizened body, which looked like it had at one time been fat, but then lost weight too quickly to look quite right.

"I know you're out there, coward! Come in here where I can see you, didn't your mother ever teach you manners at all?"

_Yes,_ thought Sakura sadly. "Here," she said instead. "I can't stay. Take this; give it to the nurse who comes in at two." That was only a minute or less away; Sakura would have to leave fast.

"Why should I?" she asked suspiciously.

"If you don't, they'll throw you out. I know you've heard them threaten to. Now take it." She was trying to hide the quaver in her voice, feeling her eyes sting and ache. One day, she knew, the old woman would refuse the money, and what would happen when she was pressed for time like she was now? What then?

Sakura had been paying for this woman to stay in the hospital and receive the care she needed. That was where more than half the money she earned went to. With this month's bill at the hospital, she was completely broke. _I need to talk to Tsunade later. I need a mission or I'm going to be in serious trouble soon... _

There was a knock at the door. Sakura shoved the envelope through the bars and fled, running fast over the rooftops to slide down to the ground several blocks over.

When she was sure that her heart had stopped pounding and she didn't look like she'd been running and climbing anymore, she stepped out of the alley and walked back toward the hospital, blending in with the crowd as though she had been out in the open all day.

* * *

I meant to tell you the other secrets she had, but a few things had to happen first and this was one of them.

Honestly, this chapter IS necessary...it's just not part 2. (besides, going in order is boring.) I forgot to tell you a few things earlier that were covered in this chapter.

Apparently I'm really bad at telling secrets and keep them as long as possible...good thing in my life, BAD thing when I'm writing! Darnit!

Thanks for reading! And putting up with the oddly short chapters!

* * *

Here's my reply to everyone who reviewed...I guess I can't help answering questions and comments and stuff...

_Sasuke Is Mine:  
_I have to admit, at least you're a faithful reviewer. -rolls eyes- but it's getting really annoying that very time I put a character into something less-than-flattering, you flame me. Why are you still reading this if it bothers you so much?

_lostfreakfound_-san:  
Yep the comment on your screenname was a compliment. And this chapter was a little longer...until I reread it, realized I hated half of it, and went on a sugar-high deleting freak...nvm you get it.

_understar_-san:  
Hehe yeah it only took me a month last time! Thanks! Now I can catch up to however far they've gotten...

_waterfox96-_san:  
Ok, here you go.

_Dagorwen of Ithilien-_san:  
Yes I kind of figured you liked LotR...hehe so do I actually. Anyway, ya, here's your update.

_xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx-_san:  
Thanks! I hope I let you on to a little more, at least. I have a feeling this will be a LONG story...-winces at sight of huge piles of story ideas that clutter her room-...a very, very long story.

_mad-killer-bunnies-alert-_san:  
-snicker- I have my own theories on Frenh spelling...none of which are very flattering to anyone...anyway here's the next chapter!

_nadeshiko-archer-_san:  
Your guess is as good as mine. But yes, very annoying..._-sets cat on writer's block-_ ha! Die!...(kind of hyper right now)

_Magus Black-_san:  
Yes I do have a habit of doing that...

_cocoa-latte_-san:  
Sure, there's no way I'm dropping it now!

_gargoylesama_-san:  
Would you really? Cool! I think I'll wait until this one is done, though, unless it starts to REALLY irritate me at how much I have to edit out. Which is very likely...

_neu chi no nai u-_san:  
Oh.

_Arandomreader_-san:  
This is half the fun of writing: looking at the names people come up with. I like yours, I think I'll do something like that when I'm too lazy to sign in for a review...thanks for the compliment!

_zero25_-san:  
Ok! Was this soon enough?

_SilverMoons BlackWings-_san:  
Ah so YOU'RE the one who took the screen name I wanted...ah well. I love your review, gotta be the most interesting one I've seen.

_catherine_-san:  
Thank you I'm glad you liked it.

_Ayame-_chan:  
There, bwa ha! Did too!

* * *

Thanks to everyone who reads this, even if you didn't review and never plan to. Yes, even YOU, ya freaking eternal flamer...whom I will not name...you know who you are...

Kage


	6. Still Not Part 2

**Disclaimer:** I still own nothing! Nothing, evil people! So don't sue me, all I have to pay the guy who DOES own thiswith is a paperclip and a cat! (believe me, he doesn't want the cat.)

This took a while to get out...my little sister insisted on playing happy peppy music while I was writing. It shows...as does my annoyance with her. So be prepared for volatile-ness ahead...

* * *

_Chapter Six: Still Not Part 2_

Sakura walked right up to the front desk, smiling at the clerk, who looked a little harried. "How can I help you?" she asked distractedly, trying to find her pen without ignoring her. She was looking increasingly desperate as she lifted stacks of paper and rifled through drawers.

"Is Tsunade-sama in?" asked Sakura, reaching over the counter and plucking the pen from under a half-eaten poptart.

"Oh, thank you! Yes, but she's with a patient right now—if you would care to wait, the Hokage shouldn't be much longer." The woman took her pen and delightedly started scribbling down notes, filling out paperwork.

"Thanks." Sakura turned and sat down in a large, overly-cushioned chair, leaning her head back and watching the clock.

By the time Tsunade emerged from one of the doors, the secretary had managed to actually organize about half the papers on the desk and lose her pen again.

Sakura had been dozing lightly, but she snapped awake and almost hopped out of the chair, calling "Tsunade-sama, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sakura," said Tsunade, turning. "I haven't seen you for a few days. How have you been?"

"Great, how about you?" lied Sakura easily, smiling.

"Well enough. There are a few people who I'd like to string up by their—

"-_cough-"_ The secretary pointedly interrupted the Hokage before saying anything regrettable.

"Well, they're irritating, let's leave it that way. Anyway, follow me. I'm finally free for a bit, so we can talk comfortably."

She went through yet another door, this one opening up into a long hallway. The first door on the right was open slightly. Tsunade pushed it the rest of the way open and closed it behind Sakura as she stepped into the "office" part of Tsunade's own little apartment at the hospital.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting down behind the large desk. She swept up the miscellaneous junk covering the surface with her arm, dumping it unceremoniously on the floor.

"I would like a mission," said Sakura. "Is there anything available?"

"That depends. How soon can you be ready, and what class are you up to?"

"I can leave within half an hour, and I'm pretty sure I can handle B by now."

"Hm..." Tsunade went through her files. "There's an escort...an undercover, but you'd need to find partners...another escort—you don't want him, he's worse than Jiraiya, I usually assign a boy for that one...let's see..."

* * *

**With Naruto**

Naruto finished his ramen, only puzzled over Sakura for a minute or so. He was pretty sure she was acting oddly, but it was hard to tell with her; she wasn't very easy to read.

After paying, he wandered aimlessly for a while. He had already trained all morning, Jiraiya was nowhere to be found, and Kakashi was on another mission, along with Iruka. That left...absolutely nothing to do.

He passed by Shikamaru, who was cloud-watching, and Ino, who was bothering him.

"N-Naruto-kun," said a shy voice behind him.

"Waa!" He hadn't even known anyone was there and jumped high, spinning impressively in the air to land on his feet facing Hinata.

Hinata was one of the few people who managed to stay shorter than Naruto himself. She looked up at him, blushing slightly. Naruto recovered fast, covering by grinning hugely and saying "Hi Hinata-chan!"

"Hi..." her fingers poked together.

"Why do you do that?" he asked, attention caught.

"Oh—um, well...it's a habit," she admitted, sweet voice barely above a whisper. She stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"A habit, huh? I don't think I have any habits like that." He thought about it for a second or so. "Nope."

Hinata had intended to ask Naruto about Sakura, but being near him made her conveniently forget about everything else. The world could have crashed around her, and as long as neither her nor Naruto was squished, she wouldn't have noticed. She was holding some cookies; with a start, she ducked her head and whispered

"I—I made...something for you..."

"Really? For me? Wow, nobody ever does that!" Naruto focused intently on her, like a dog that has seen a juicy treat.

His intense, bright blue gaze was like a sea she could drown in, made all the more sparkling by the interest and focus that was bent on her in that moment.

"I...here," she managed, unable to meet his eyes anymore. She held up the bag without looking at him.

The bag was orange, small like a gift-bag. Hinata had carefully tied it with a blue ribbon, the same intense aqua as Naruto's eyes, making sure the bows were the same size and easy to untie, and that the ends of the ribbon curled just right. The cookies inside were actually the fifth batch she had made; Hinata was unwilling to give burnt, undercooked, flat, or otherwise imperfect cookies to Naruto.

She knew he probably wouldn't notice, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he accepted them.

"Wow, thanks Hinata-chan!" Naruto took the bag. He pulled off the ribbon and opened the bag. His eyes widened. "Cookies!"

"Y—yes. I...made them..." she whispered. Her courage failed her and her voice trailed off. She debated running away, and had actually started to back up when his voice stopped her.

(A/N: In Japan, when a girl gives a boy cookies, it usually means she likes him. This, of course, totally goes over Naruto's head.)

"This is really good! Hey, where're you going?"

She glanced up. Naruto was regarding her with a confused expression on his mobile face, blue eyes reflecting puzzlement. A cookie was hanging comically out of his mouth, as he hadn't bitten off the part between his teeth yet.

She giggled slightly, so quietly it was debatable whether he heard it or not. She tried to think of a convincing answer for him, but the words flew out of her head when there was suddenly a cookie right under her nose.

"Wanna share 'em?" asked Naruto.

* * *

**With Ino**

Ino carefully arranged the flowers in the vase, making sure each one was displayed to make it look the most beautiful. This particular set was for a sick person; most of the flowers either symbolized wellness or possessed actual healing qualities, like the lavender she had used as a sort of background.

When she was finished, she gently set it behind glass on a shelf next to a bouquet of roses.

There really wasn't much else to do. She swept up the flower cuttings and threw them away, mindlessly rearranged a few hapless daffodils, and then sat and twirled a small lock of pale hair.

Even daydreaming wasn't helping her out. She was bored; her father had asked for her to help out, then left when she arrived. That had been about two hours ago.

_Maybe someone will stop by...that would be nice...I'm BORED._ She sighed. _Really, really, really _bored. She plopped down on a stood behind the counter.

The front bell rang. Ino perked up, taking her chin out of her palms. Someone was opening the door. Sliding off the stool, Ino hurried over.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop," she said brightly, flashing a smile. "Are you looking for anything specific I can help you with?"

The man was taller than her, and Ino had to tilt her head back to see him clearly. His hair was lightish brown and neatly combed, tame and short. His face was nothing to comment on: neither thin nor plump, not ugly or pretty. Not even an unusual shape; it wasn't round or square or heart-shaped or _anything._ Just...face-shaped. His clothing was plain, a simple shirt and pants. He could have blended into any crowd.

"No, I'm just looking around. Thank you." He brushed past her.

Ino stepped back and leaned against the wall, watching him. He made a slow round of the store, and Ino noticed that although he stopped frequently, he never actually studied the flowers. He seemed to be just looking at them without really caring or paying attention.

_Why would he come here if he didn't care about the flowers? Is he just killing time?_ She sighed. She wished Sakura would hurry up and visit; even fighting was _interesting._

Suddenly she heard an odd little sound. She jerked her head up and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place. _I swear I heard something. Someone else is here..._

Thinking quickly, Ino pretended to go back to her train of thought, letting her eyes glaze over again. She kept her ears open and her hands tensed to perform seals, watching everything out of the corner of her eye.

_If it's Kiba-san or Naruto-san playing some dumb prank again, I'm going to feel really stupid...and totally kill them of course..._

There were a few tense moments of silence. The man was looking at a rose arrangement in the back. Ino was between him and the door. The clock ticked.

The door burst open and a loud voice yelled "Hands up NOW!"

Ino dove to the floor, rolling underneath a table and springing up on the other side, kunai in hand and pointed to the door.

The person in the doorway held several shuriken, three more of which were in the floor following her path, one of which was stuck to the wall where her head had been.

"Who are you and what do you want!" she snapped habitually, knowing she probably wouldn't get an answer.

"I'm a ninja and I want every yen in this store!"

Ino's eyes widened in disbelief. Not from fear; her entire mind went blank except for a single thought: _Who the HELL is this stupid!_ She was having trouble actually believing him for a second. She felt the huge anime sweatdrop descend over her head.

"Wait. You want all the money...from a flower shop," she repeated.

"You heard him," snapped the first man, who now held up his hands to form seals. "Better hurry, or you're dead."

Ino's face was blank. _You have GOT to be kidding... _"You guys realize this is a _hidden village,_ right?" she asked slowly.

"No backtalk! Move!"

"How stupid can you possible _be?_" she snapped incredulously at the newcomer, irritated at being bossed around.

"What are you talking about?" demanded the second man. The first one began to sign. His fingers were a little clumsy and he was by no means the fastest person ever.

"One: this is a _flower shop._ Who robs flower shops? Two: I am Yamanaka Ino. _Chuunin!" _She finished sharply, suddenly flinging out a hand and yelling "Illusion-Counter no Jutsu! Rebound!"

The first man's poorly-formed genjutsu backfired in his face. Without pausing, Ino dodged sideways and threw the kunai at the same time, knocking both the man's shuriken out of the air and narrowly missing his face.

Ino glanced back at the first man. He was staring, wide-eyed, at nothing, starting to babble a little. The illusion must have been something to do with a nightmare. Content that he was temporarily out of the way, she returned her attention to the second one.

He seemed surprised that she'd countered both shuriken; apparently he had been under the delusion that one or the other would hit her. _Whatever. Idiot never heard of kunoichi, did he? Time to teach him._

She didn't give him a chance to recover; walking straight up to him, she socked him in the face. Really, really hard. _What a fool._

He fell backward out the door, jamming it open. "Third, I'm a chuunin on PMS," she snapped. "You're blocking the entrance," she informed him irritably. "Move it!"

He was too groggy to actually do anything. Ino turned briskly away, stalked up to the first man, and hit him sharply on the back of the neck. He dropped like a stone, temporarily out of his misery. Foam flecked at the corners of his mouth. _Weakling! Couldn't even get out of his own jutsu! And it wasn't even a _good_ jutsu!_ She yanked him up, dragging him none-too-gently toward the front of the shop and heaving him out the door, watching him land with a large thump and a wet, sickening crack on the hard-packed dirt.

"Jerk!" she yelled after him, even though he probably couldn't hear her. She rammed the door the rest of the open with her hip and literally tossed the other man out after him. "Idiot! Come back when you can call yourself a _real_ ninja instead of the dress-up act you're playing now!"

She was still fuming at their stupidity. It was insulting that they would try and rob her, more so that they called themselves ninja.

"Uh...is this a bad time?" asked Shikamaru. "I can come back later..."

"Huh? Oh! Shika-kun! These idiots just tried to rob the flower shop! Can you believe that?" She crossed her arms, irritated. Then suddenly she smiled at the Nara boy, anger completely evaporated for no apparent reason.

"Why would anyone rob a flower shop?" he asked, eyeing them skeptically. He decided to ignore the 'shika-kun' part for now. It would probably turn out way too troublesome to try and persuade her to call him anything else anyway. Annoying as it was.

"I don't know." Ino shrugged. Then suddenly she glanced up at Shikamaru through her eyelashes. "Who cares, anyway? I'm hungry," she decided. She sidled closer.

Shikamaru sighed resignedly. Ino was undoubtedly going to start flirting again. And he knew that by 'I'm hungry' she meant 'buy me something so I know you like me.' "Haven't you eaten yet? Never mind. I just came by for some flowers."

Ino pouted. "For who?" she asked sweetly, the sugar covering the hidden edge that warned the genius it had better not be a _girl_ getting flowers.

"Kiba," he answered. At Ino's raised eyebrow and eye twitch, he stammered "Uh—that is, Kiba's _sister!"_ Damn, he was digging himself deeper. Now she was almost glaring at him. "I mean, I need flowers for Kiba to give to his sister!" This was not going well. Not at all.

"Whoa," said Ino, holding up a hand and poking him in the nose, cutting off the incriminating, embarrassing words he was stumbling over. "Start over. You need flowers why?"

"Kiba's sister is sick," said Shikamaru. (A/N: Does anyone know the NAME of his sister? I don't.) "He asked me to get some flowers for her since he doesn't want to get them himself."

Ino rolled her eyes. "No, Kiba isn't the type to buy flowers. Never mind that he could just _pick_ them." She turned on her heel and went back inside.

Shikamaru sighed in relief and followed her, feeling like he'd narrowly escaped something altogether unpleasant.

* * *

**­With Sakura, about an hour later**

Sakura glanced at the little slip of paper in her hands.

_**Rank: B**_

_Category: Retrieval_

_Objective: Locate and obtain scrolls._

_Detail: Scroll of the Winds, Scroll of Shadows, Scroll of the Waters, Scroll of the Flames, Scroll of the Earths_

Her mission was simple. Go to the Village of the Hidden Mist, steal the five scrolls, return. It had been easy to understand, but Sakura knew why it was B-rank. She had heard of those scrolls before; they used to be here, in Konoha. But a long time ago they had been taken away and sealed off in secrecy, deemed to dangerous to be kept where they could be read.

But now Tsunade had reason to believe that the Mist-nins were actually using the scrolls. And since she had finally been able to find out where they were, she had only been waiting for the first able ninja to approach her for a mission.

Sakura would have to leave at dusk, travel as far as she could, and then set up residence in a hotel near the scrolls' hiding place. _That leaves me...one hour until I need to leave. Enough time to see Hinata and stop by Ino's shop._

She folded the slip of paper and stuck it in the shuriken holster on her thigh, inside the little hidden pocket in the top. _Good thing Hinata gave me those energy-bars. I think that's all I'm going to be eating until I get back._

There weren't many people on the streets anymore; it was dinnertime. She caught a glimpse of a family through an open window, sitting around a table. They were smiling and looked happy. It was almost possible to feel the love inside that house all the way out in the street.

Resolutely, Sakura turned away.

* * *

**At the Hyuuga Mansion Thingy**

Yumi sighed in irritation. Hinata-sama was hopelessly distracted, and even Neji-sama was more distant than usual. Well, he was brooding more anyway. _Stupid teenage hormones. Is there no child with sense?_

Hinata stared dreamily into her soup, blushing slightly. Yumi carefully bumped her as she walked by. Hinata started and snapped her head up, eyes wide and embarrassed.

"Oops. Watch out, Hinata-sama; pull that chair in."

"Where are you going, Yumi-san?" she asked, regaining her shy composure.

"Bringing that twit her dinner," said Yumi distastefully.

"You could be a little nicer to Hanabi," stammered Hinata. In truth, she didn't care for her bratty, spoiled little sister either, but Hinata was protective of everyone. Even Hanabi.

Yumi snorted instead of deigning to actually reply. As she walked by, she snapped "Neji-sama! I expect that food _gone_ when I get back. You hardly eat."

"Not hungry," he mumbled without looking up.

"I didn't ask if you were hungry. I ordered you to eat. Now do it!" And she left before he could argue.

Distractedly, he stared at his reflection in the glass of water. It was somehow irritating to him that the Haruno girl could act so...different. She had been completely spent the day before. Then she suddenly had the energy to run? And she had glared at him...like she was his _equal._ Like she wasn't the second-weakest girl he'd ever met. She was still optimistic, despite being beaten down three times before finally achieving chuunin, despite never having accomplished a solo mission.

He had promised himself that he would stop obsessing over fate, but being around Haruno made it very difficult. She was so obviously destined to weakness and failure...but like Naruto, she refused to accept that. And that bothered him, almost the same way it bothered him that Hinata refused to acknowledge her own weakness.

"Tomorrow is the Festival of Family," said Hinata timidly.

"And?" he muttered.

"I—I was thinking—we could go," she faltered.

Neji didn't look up. "No."

"But—"

"Someone's here," he said shortly. He pushed his chair back and rose. Walking coldly to the door, he opened it a bare width.

"Neji-san," said Sakura, smiling at him. "Is Hinata-chan inside?"

"..." he opened the door, making an effort to stop glaring at her like he'd like to kill her. He settled for giving her a contemptuous look which she ignored in favor of waving to Hinata and hurrying over.

"I got your cookies and energy bars," said Sakura. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. I thought I would stop by and let you know I'm not dead!" she laughed.

"Oh, you're alright," murmured Hinata, smiling. She stood up. "I was worried...so Ino gave you the cookies?"

"Yeah I had a few. They're pretty good. Yumi-san's?" she asked.

"Yes. Hey, S-Sakura," said Hinata as Neji re-entered and sat at the table. "The Festival of Family is tomorrow."

Sakura flinched. Hinata didn't see it, but Neji caught it. He saw her tension, saw a cheerful mask drop over her already bright face.

"Yeah, are you going?" she asked positively.

"If I can convince Neji-nii-san to come," answered Hinata quietly. "What about you?"

Sakura smiled widely. Neji was willing to bet, for just an instant, that the smile was fake. But in the next moment, he wasn't so sure; Haruno seemed incredibly sincere. "No, I have a mission. I'm leaving later tonight."

"A mission? On a Festival day? Sakura-chan, you should have told Hokage-sama no!"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I don't mind, my family isn't really into festivals anyway. I'm the only one who really likes them."

_I don't think I've ever seen her family at a festival,_ thought Neji. _Actually...I've never seen her family at all._ That wasn't unusual; shinobi often preferred a certain level of anonymity. But this was _Haruno Sakura._ Someone like her should have carried a picture of her mother and father with her in a purse or something. But he'd never even seen that. _Odd._

"I'm going to go see Ino-chan at her flower shop," said Sakura. "Want to come?"

"Sure," said Hinata. She turned. "Neji-nii-san, can you please tell Yumi-san that I went with Sakura-chan?"

"Hn." That meant yes.

"Thanks." She followed Sakura out.

Yumi paused right before opening the door to Hanabi's room. Steeling herself, she slid the screen open.

"Hanabi-sama, your dinner be waitin. Are you awake, child?"

"I am _not_ a child, fool!" came the disgruntled voice from under several blankets.

Yumi declined to answer that. "How ya feelin?" she asked briskly instead.

"Horrible, since you asked so nicely. And where is the tea I sent for half an hour ago!"

Yumi clamped her self-control down. "On the table next to you. Right where I said it 'ud be."

"Why wasn't it announced? I had no knowledge it was there," demanded Hanabi.

"You were sleepin. I didn't want to wake you," said Yumi tersely. _I didn't want to have to deal with a little spoiled brat. Sometimes, girl, you are _so_ lucky your sister defends you. Don't know _why_ she does it, since you're just as nasty to her, but I guess she's just a nice girl._

"Hmph."

"Well, dinner's announced. If you be hungry, eat. If not, I be back in an hour." Yumi set down the tray next to the cold tea and turned to leave.

"You didn't ask if I wanted anything," complained Hanabi.

"I assumed you'd tell me," grumbled Yumi. _Spoiled, conceited, sadistic little—_

"Oh. Of course. You may leave, then."

Yumi didn't say good-bye; she wasn't sure her composure could last that long. For Hinata's sake, she tried to be nice to the youngest Hyuuga...but the brat was making it damned _hard._ And frustration was not something Yumi dealt well with.

* * *

**Sakura & Hinata**

"Sakura-chan, where have you been?" asked Hinata worriedly. "I thought you would come by earlier."

Sakura laughed a little, sheepishly, and put a hand behind her head. "I actually slept past noon," she admitted. "Then I had to run a few errands. I came here right after," she added. _Ha! Not even lying,_ said Inner Sakura.

"Oh."

"Hinata-chan, did you give cookies to Naruto?" asked Sakura.

Hinata blushed, turning her skin a bright, dark red. "Um...y-yes."

Sakura grinned. "Good for you! I'm glad you finally did it!"

Hinata smiled slightly. "Yes...I did it." She picked her head up a little. "I did it," she repeated, more firmly.

"That's right, be proud!" encouraged Sakura. "You're not afraid anymore! You can do anything! Come on, repeat it," she added.

"I—I wouldn't go _that_ far..." whispered Hinata.

"Oh come on Hinata, you know that's true. You could do anything if you really wanted to."

"I c-couldn't beat Naruto-kun," she pointed out.

"Do you really want to? Well, neither can I. So we'll train until we can kick his sorry little butt!" laughed Sakura. "And then you can get him some ramen, he'll feel better, and you'll have the boy of your dreams in no time."

Hinata giggled, still blushing.

Sakura spotted the flower shop up ahead. The light was on inside. When they got there, Hinata gasped and Sakura stopped for a second. Then, with a smirk, she rang the bell loudly and opened the door, startling Ino and Shikamaru out of their kissing.

"Ah!" Shikamaru actually hopped away from her, shoving his hands in his pockets. Ino shot him a deadly glare that promised pain later, then grinned hugely to her friends.

"Hi! Glad you guys stopped by," exclaimed Ino cheerfully. "Shika-kun and I were just discussing different kinds of flowers for sick people."

"Yeah, it showed," teased Sakura. Ino stuck out her tongue.

"I'm leaving," muttered Shikamaru. Ino glanced at him.

"Come back soon," she called after him. He didn't actually reply. Ino winked at Sakura and Hinata. "He's the one that actually wanted to kiss," she whispered confidentially. "Which was surprising, but I'm not complaining!" she giggled.

"Um...good for you, Ino-chan," murmured Hinata.

"Hey, I'm going to that Family thing tomorrow with my dad," said Ino. "You guys wanna meet somewhere?"

"Okay," said Hinata.

"I'm not going," said Sakura. "I have a mission. I'm leaving later tonight."

"Aw, Sakura-chan! You've never gone to this with me! _Ever!_ What's the deal?"

"My family isn't in to festivals," said Sakura lightly, shrugging it off. Before Ino could say anything, she added "I just stopped in to say hi...I should probably go pack."

"Stay for some tea at least," said Ino. "I know you, you can pack in five minutes. Besides, you have to tell me something."

"What?" asked Sakura, vague unease growing in her stomach.

"Is this a mission where you're going to want to look like a civilian?" asked Ino.

"It would help," said Sakura.

"Thought so. Come to the back with me," said Ino.

"What? What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Normal women don't have pink hair past their butt. I'm going to fix that for you," said Ino firmly.

"You're not dying it," said Sakura. "We tried that, remember?"

"Yeah, it worked about as well as sidewalk chalk on plastic in the rain," she grumbled. Then, more audibly, "I'm just going to cut it. Come on, it won't hurt. And you'll look better anyway."

_Who asked you?_ Fumed Inner Sakura. But Sakura was drawn slightly. She didn't much like having to brush her hair out so much every morning...a haircut could be useful.

Hinata followed them to the back of the shop, where there was a roomy bathroom. Once they were all inside, Ino took out a small pair of scissors, razor-sharp and glittering in the light.

Sakura closed her eyes. She felt the forehead protector leave her head, feeling suddenly naked without it. She could hear some snipping and gradually her head was feeling lighter and lighter. Her neck was incredibly relieved. _I didn't know hair weighed so much._ "Almost done?" she asked cautiously.

"Almost. Just adding a few touches," said Ino. There were a few seconds of silence, the only sound being the snip of the dangerously sharp scissors.

"Oh," said Hinata suddenly. "Sakura-chan...you look...very pretty."

"Can I look?" asked Sakura.

"Alright! My best work yet," said Ino enthusiastically. "I've been wanting to do that to you for _months._ Yeah, go ahead and look."

Sakura opened her eyes and moved in front of the mirror. Her eyes widened and her breath stopped for a second.

Her hair had been cut oddly, almost untidily. There were two longer locks framing her face like long bangs, just like when she was fourteen. The rest of her hair had been layered and feathered, none of it past the base of her neck. When she moved, the air movement teased it into dancing and framing her face. She ran a hand through her newly shortened hair, amazed.

"Wow...Ino-chan...it—it looks great," said Sakura. "Thanks."

"I knew you would _like_ it. The hard part was just finding a way for you to let me do it!" laughed Ino.

Sakura suddenly encountered a longer piece, about an inch wide at the nape of her neck. She pulled the shiny pink strands over her shoulder, holding it up in a finger-thick rope. "You missed a spot," she said.

"I couldn't bear to get rid of it _all_," said Ino. "And I know how to style it more interestingly with that longer piece with it."

"But—it looks kind of weird," said Sakura.

"Not when you do this," said Ino. She took it from her and started braiding. In less than twenty seconds, a finger-thick, shining braid hung like a cord from Sakura's head, seeming to emerge out of the rest of her hair with no discernible beginning.

"You could always hit someone with it," offered Hinata. "I'm sure it would hurt..."

"Yeah," laughed Sakura. "Thanks again, Ino-chan. I should be leaving soon, though..." she said suddenly, realizing it must be late.

"I'll walk home with Hinata-chan," said Ino. "Go ahead and run."

"Thanks! See you, Hinata-chan, bye Ino-chan!" Sakura waved and then ran out. She had half an hour to get ready.

* * *

Yes! Finally, something a little bit longer! (See, you dumb authorities, giving me time off and enough sleep makes a difference!) Anyway...yeah. Thanks to everyone who reads this!

I can't really think of anything to say...um...Spring Break is here! Yeah! Been here for a while actually but...oh well. Now I'm awake enough to enjoy it. Hm, that's rare...

Skip to the bottom, I'm replying to reviews now. Unless you reviewed, then look for your name. If I left you out, flame me for it or something.

* * *

_Sasuke-Is-Mine  
_Ok you've made your point. I know I suck at writing, but must you point it out without making any suggestions at all? At least do me a favor: go back and"review" Ch. 1. Wouldn't want to think you actually missed a flaw in my awful writing. Make it interesting, review as "the Eternal Flamer" or something.

_understar_-san  
Ah, so glad you like it! -warm fuzzies- Yay! ...uh...no one saw those fuzzies...-snatches them away and hides them under dark cloak- hehe...-nervous laugh-

_xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx  
_oh no don't smack Neji upside the head...-evil cackle- I have that all planned ot already...bwa ha ha ha...oh ok good, typing "chan" and then "san" was kind of confusing...-

_Dagorwen of Ithilien_-san  
ok!

_neu chi no nai u_-san  
That's what happens next.

_mad-killer-bunnies-alert_-san  
You like it? Ch. 5 was actually rather rushed, I never got the chance to proof-read it...hey wow, there you are!...cool...-squints- yup!

_cocoa-latte_-san  
Hm haven't told you yet have I? oops.

_Krista-_san  
Ah, that's the problem...I have very little time on my hands...-writes anyway-

_Magus Black_-san  
Shh! Yes, but _Shh!_ Dang, was it that obvious? -mutters something under her breath- and yes, Neji can get a swift kick in the ass from Lee...or someone...but he WILL get it...-evil cackle-  
Thanks for saying this is unusual; Ayame-chan was worried this might become the stereotyped "Sakura can't take it anymore, becomes suicidal, someone understands, they fall in love" type story. No. NOT HAPPENING, AYAME!

Ayame-chan  
Your review was AFTER I had the chapter written up. No, Sakura is not actually abused, suicidal, or 'the world hates me everyone sucks.' (the last one is already taken by Neji anyway.)

_Bevy-chan_-san  
Here is the update!

_waterfox-96_-san  
I couldn't find that profile. I looked, but I can't find them.

_SilverMoons BlackWings_-san  
Juicy? ok. Yeah, odds are weird...

_Silver dark rose_-san  
Yay! I love being stumbled across! (unless you step on me. Then it's uncomfortable.)

* * *

Ok, until next time...which may or may not be up before Monday...see ya.

_Kage_


	7. Go Home

**Disclaimer**: If I owned it, Gai would be placed in a coma for long periods of time (I'm sorry 'Yame, there's really only so many flames of youth I can handle) Kakashi would be embarrassed at least once because he's way to easygoing, Sasuke would NOT be so annoying in chapter 210 or whatever it is, and I wouldn't have to rant about all the things I would change. Oh yeah and I apologize in advance for a really bad chapter.

You know what I realized while writing this? It's really, REALLY hard to keep Sakura in character once you take away her crush on Sasuke, since it's such a huge part of what and who she is. It's like her obsession with him is a big piece of her identity...

* * *

_Chapter 7: Go Home_

Sakura adjusted her pack on her shoulder, the little backpack with everything she needed inside. She was almost outside of Konoha now, about fifty yards from the actually border. She relaxed slightly, letting the tight control over her constant mask slip a little like a small girl secretly loosening the laces of a too-tight dress.

Just as she was about to take to the trees, she sensed chakra nearby, brooding and almost sinister. She stopped and whirled around, kunai in hand, before recognizing the energy for who it was. "Sasuke-kun," she said in surprise, staring right at the place where he'd been hiding, following her.

He stepped out. The years hadn't changed him much. His eyes were a little less angry and desperately driven, the old fanatical light replaced with a much healthier determination. His hair had remained the same (Inner Sakura thought it looked like a duck's butt, although Sakura thought it was just a little messy), as had his face. He was still in many ways the beautiful, distant boy he had been as a genin. He had grown somewhat, but not as much as she had; they were about eye-to-eye now. He still wore the dark blue jacket and white shorts, although now he had a chuunin vest to put over the jacket.

"Sakura," he said simply.

"What do you want?" asked Sakura, her tone polite. _We have to LEAVE, dammit!_ Yelled Inner Sakura. Outer Sakura repressed her quickly. _If he gets suspicious, things will get bad,_ she answered. _I know this is time we can't afford, but it will be worse if I ignore him. Haruno Sakura would never ignore Uchiha Sasuke, no matter how much of a hurry she's in or how long ago she stopped loving him. Remember?_

"Tsunade-sama said you had a mission," said Sasuke, tone flat. "B-rank."

"Yes," she said, wondering what he was getting at. "Listen, Sasuke-kun, I need to go—"

"Don't," he said sharply, stopping her. More smoothly, he continued "Let this mission go to someone else. Don't take it."

"Why not?" she asked carefully. Was something going on she didn't know about? Why shouldn't she take this mission? What was wrong?

He raised an eyebrow at her, as though she had just said something incredibly stupid. He didn't say anything for a long second, just let her stare back with a growing twinge of impatience and unease. "It's B-rank."

"We've established that," she said shortly, more rudely than she'd intended. She knew Sasuke would probably beat around the bush unless she broke character and sped him up, and he was taking time she couldn't afford. It was forcing her to gamble a little, but she didn't have much of a choice.

"You and I both know you can't take B-rank," he said. He was probably trying to be gentle about it, but the words stung her ears. A few years ago, they probably would have crushed her. Even a few days ago, they would have thrown her into a depressed spiral of self-hate.

But right then, it had the opposite affect. He had come to tell her to refuse a mission, not because there was something going on, but because he thought she was _too weak to handle it!_ Inner Sakura flared up like dry tinder struck by lightning, but Sakura didn't need her alter-ego's rage to fuel her own.

For an instant, overwhelming fury shone out of her eyes, which were rapidly darkening to emerald. But just before she would have cracked and done something regrettable (and really, really violent) her hard-won self-control saved her. Sakura clamped down forcibly on her rage, trying to contain it.

Sasuke saw the wrath glittering in her eyes like a visible energy and for an instant he was taken aback. _This_ was Sakura? The weak little lovestruck genin? She had never displayed anything close to what she held in check by a thread now. But then it was gone, and he wondered if he'd imagined it.

"Go home, Sasuke-kun," she said softly. He couldn't read her eyes or her voice. She was looking down at the ground. "I have a mission."

"No. You'll hurt yourself or die. _You_ go home. I can take whatever it is."

_He doesn't even know what I'm _doing_ and he's telling me I can't handle it? That chauvinistic, interfering, oblivious, egotistical, self-centered, arrogant, overly-proud, stuck-up, full of himself, self-important, meddling, power-mad little ASS!_ "I said _go home,_ Sasuke," she said tightly, in her growing anger forgetting to add the signature little 'kun' to his name. She glared at a blameless little twig on the ground, the harsh angry stare hidden from Sasuke by her bangs.

"At least take a partner," he said reasonably, not seeming upset at all. Or in any hurry to get lost, either.

"I can handle myself," she said, managing to call up a smile from somewhere as she looked up again. She had the feeling it looked more like a controlled snarl, but it was the most she could manage at the moment and it probably went right over his head anyway. He had never really noticed her emotions before now anyway.

He gave her a knowing, politely skeptical look. She knew he was trying to break her down, waiting for her to crack first. Sakura decided that she didn't feel like putting up with it right now. _I don't have time for this._ "Good-bye, Sasuke," she said shortly.

She turned away from Uchiha Sasuke, leaping into the nearest tree and taking off without a backward glance. It was, quite possibly, the most uncharacteristic thing she had ever done publicly in her life. And _damn_ it felt good to leave him standing there with his mouth open slightly.

_Hell yeah,_ both Sakura's thought enthusiastically, Inner Sakura throwing a fist in the air.

Sasuke was too surprised to move and follow her. Had Sakura...just walked away from him? Right after actually _defying_ him? He stared at the place she'd been standing, stunned mind trying to make sense of it.

He had known that she was no longer head-over-heels for him. That had been a bit of relief at first, since he'd finally had room to breathe. But after a while he realized just how much of an ego boost it had given him to have the girl his rival wanted nearly glued to his hip without his ever once encouraging her. And after he came to acknowledge _that,_ he realized how used he had gotten to finding little tokens of affection everywhere, how much he had taken her acceptance and love for granted.

Haruno Sakura had offered him the only unalloyed love he had ever known...and he had ignored her. In return for her determined, undying passion, he had given her cold words and a colder shoulder. After all, what was stopping him? He had nothing to lose—it wasn't like she was going anywhere; she would always be there, always remain by him, no matter what. She had said so herself.

Sasuke didn't feel himself sink slowly to the ground, consumed by his thoughts. How long he sat there, he could never have said. His mind ran through memories and new revelations, oblivious to the world around him.

Even after she and Naruto had pulled him away from Orochimaru, and Sakura had said sadly that he had broken her heart one too many times to keep her formerly undying love alive, he hadn't truly believed she'd given up. After all, it was _Sakura._ His number one admirer, cheerleader, and possibly the clingiest, most eager-to-please girl in the world. She would never refuse him if he just asked her to return to him.

He had believed that all these years. That all it would take was a few words, perhaps some flowers or something. But now...she had just _walked away._ Like there was something more important to her than he was. Like he didn't matter anymore.

He sat dumbly, unmoving. He could have been a statue, except for the whirling thoughts and conusion and stunned pride that swirled through his eyes, the mixed emotions no artist would ever be able to capture all that showed he still lived.

She had completely ignored his opinion. That had never happened to him before. Ever, from _anyone._ People had disagreed with him—Naruto was a prime and frequent candidate for that—but never just brushed him off. No one had disregarded him like that...least of all Haruno Sakura.

**With Ino & Hinata**

They both watched Sakura run off, then Ino invited Hinata back inside to finish the tea.

Hinata sighed and stared off into space, images of Naruto drifting in and out of her mind. For a while, Ino seemed content to let her wander, but after a few minutes of watching her friend's dreamy face, she asked

"Thinking about Naruto-kun?"

Hinata was startled away from the memory of sharing a cookie with the loud ninja, staring into Ino's blue eyes, different from Naruto's aquamarine orbs. "Uh—well, I..."

Ino sighed. "It's _okay,_ Hinata-chan," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I already know you like him." _Hell, everyone EXCEPT the boy you like knows you like him! Even Kiba-san knows, and he's normally almost as clueless as Naruto!_

This led into a conversation about Naruto, Shikamaru, boys in general, and a few new jutsus.

Before the two girls closed up the shop, Hinata asked Ino for the rest of Sakura's hair, which was currently strewn all over the floor. Ino shrugged and said sure, so while Ino made sure all the flowers were neatly arranged and watered and the mess from the attempted robbery was entirely clean, Hinata gathered up the long pink strands and coiled them into a shining pink rope that she tucked away in one of the pockets of her chuunin vest.

**With Sakura**

Her victory was short-lived. As good as it had felt to leave him, her common sense quickly reasserted itself. She had just broken her carefully-constructed self into little tiny splinters. The work of years, of establishing herself as irreversibly bound to Sasuke, had just been overthrown by a moment of careless frustration.

No one else knows, pointed out Inner Sakura. And it's not like he's going to go around telling people you ditched him.

She had to agree there. But still, he had just become a loose end...and she _hated_ loose ends.

Sakura reached the Village of the Hidden Mist slightly winded and hungry, but otherwise fine. She stopped before entering the boundary, mentally checking to make sure everything was right and she had everything she needed on her.

She removed her forehead protector, and then to cover the obvious tanline she tied a soft, fluttery yellow strip of fabric around her head that was about the same width. The ends waved gracefully, tickling her back. It was a very pale yellow, complimenting her soft pink hair and pretty green eyes.

Thankful that she and Ino had remained roughly the same size, Sakura changed quickly into the pale yellow wide-neck shirt and denim skirt her friend had lent her. The sleeves of the shirt were wide and long, mimicking a kimono; that way she could still wear the little weapon-holsters on her forearms, but no one would notice. The denim skirt was short enough to make it interesting, but not so short that she couldn't move and still long enough to hide a few kunai under.

Her backpack had a little hidden pocket or two, which were put to use hiding the various weapons she couldn't still fit under her clothing.

For a few seconds, the harsh metal of the throwing stars was icy against her skin, hidden beneath her clothing. Then the heat of her body warmed them and she stopped noticing them so much. It didn't take her long to forget they were there at all.

With the ease born of practice, Sakura settled a nondescript, vaguely pleasant expression over her face, feeling the muscles tense and relax as they were supposed to. In less than a second, she had a pretty, deceptive light shining out of her eyes like a young woman sightseeing on her own for the very first time. Which was, of course, what she was going for.

As the sun rose overhead, a young and pretty tourist made her way through the gates and into the Village of the Hidden Mist.

* * *

Ok I'm really, really sorry this took so long. And that the chapter SUCKED. It probably doesn't mean anything to you if I say I'm way more disappointed in this than any of my readers, but I am. (In my own defense, I haven't been writing because my writing gets noticeably worse when I'm not depressed, and lately I have been relatively cheerful. Lame excuse I know, but at least you know it's true; who the hell would make something like that up? A lie usually makes sense -makes face- ) 

Anyway. Before I babble out about being busy and start ranting about research papers (which, I am learning, REALLY suck) here's the reply to the reviewers.

* * *

_efterklang-_san:  
Yay, another one! Is that a request? Email me and tell me what kind of story you're looking for and I'll write it for you! 

_Dagorwen of Ithilien-_san:  
Here is the update, I'm sorry it sucked! -tear-

_understar-_san:  
Intriguing? Really? How so?

_neu chi no nai u-_san:  
I think I got a request for a sasuke X sakura, so if youhold out for a bit I'll make one...but sadly no this is not with Sasuke. Right now he's getting on my nerves a little, so I'll wait until he stops bothering me before writing one. Shouldn't take too long, I have almost no temper to speak of.

_Sasuke-Is-Mine:_  
-blink, blink- temper, temper...  
I believe I have heard "you suck" enough times out of you. Are you even bothering to RAD this anymore, or are you just skipping to the bottom to flame me?

_Hao'sAnjul_-san:  
You're back! -waves- hello! Ah, you're alive! Don't worry about it, I'm just happy you didn't hate this and stop reading for some reason.

_cocoa-latte_-san:  
Yeah me too. I love being an authoress and being able to screw with anything I want -evil grin-

_Umino Ayame_-chan:  
Yay! –still laughing at review- thank you so much for the suggestions. And for giving me Hanabi's age, I had no clue...  
Sakura can't die, she's the main character. Be content that I dislike cliché as much as you. I applaud you sticking with this, I know how much you erm..._dislike_ her...-snicker-.  
That is the longest review you've ever written in your life, isn't it? And it made me laugh...at 3-something in the freaking morning...hahaha HanabiIS a twit.

_Magus Black-_san:  
Thank you! A lot.

_Arandomreader-_san:  
-waves- Hi again! Sorry, there's no other person on this mission; it's her first-ever solo mission.

_MKRA-_san:  
WooHOO! Yay, I'm so glad you're hooked! -makes funny "squee" noise- ThankyouThankyouthankyouthankyou!

_BloodLasts4ever-_san:  
Thank you, I'm so glad you think it's good n.n

_Shiroi Hikari-_san:  
Oh no, her family definately isn't her only secret. There are more. I'm just having trouble getting them out...

_TrueLoveHurts-_san:  
Yes ma'am (sir?), right away! -clutches cat- believe me you really shouldn't try to kidnap Shiroari...I named her "termite" for a very good reason. As for those buckets, now...would they by any chance have tea or something good in them?

_Toki Daisuke U-_chan:  
Oh...-incredibly happy- You read it! And you LIKED IT! Yay! Thanks for the critique, really that's what I'm looking for is suggestions. Thank you! -bows many times- I'll be more descriptive next chapter...I already had this one written when you reviewed.

* * *

Ok, until next time this is it. Oh yeah, and if anyone has any thoughts or ideas on what the hell I can do next...I'm clueless. -sweatdrop- I have no idea what to have happen next...

Kage and Shiroari


	8. Spider's Web

**Disclaimer:** If I owned it...don't you think a few of these plot twists would have appeared in the series? Especially the ones coming up that-- (realizes she's about to give everything away) -ahem.- read on...

_A/N: I flip scenes a lot here. If that bothers you, sorry. As soon as I get bored with one person's point of view, I switch to someone else's. I've tried to make it as un-confusing as possible though._

_Ok, first this was EATEN by my computer, then I accidentally DELETED it, then the thing freaking CORRUPTED it, and then it decided that it didn't like Word and screwed it over AGAIN. And then of course we have these lovely little exams…which take up an amazing amount of study time…-scowl-_

_Apology to Toki (and everyone in general): It has been brought to my attention (by Toki) that I was so concerned with explaining everything and setting things up that I forgot to actually put in the PLOT. Oops. Sorry about that, I'm working on it right now.

* * *

_

_Ch. 8: Spider's Web_

Sakura spent most of the day sightseeing the village. It wasn't the shinobi village itself, but an ordinary civilian populace, just a few minutes' quick run away. It was a very _large_ town; everywhere she looked, there were people. Crowds of all ages, from incredibly ancient-looking elders who moved with a slow deliberate pace to small children that Sakura was forced to repeatedly dodge to avoid collision, jostled and made noise around her. The sound of a child's skipping, running-tag game battled with the clamor of street vendors, which fought with other people trying to be heard over the din. Altogether, it seemed deafening to someone like Sakura who had spent most of her life in a small ninja village, where most of the residents were quiet and reserved, disinclined to make too much noise.

There were moveable carts and small stalls selling foods of different kinds, some of which smelled interesting enough to make her want to try them, just to see what they tasted like. As she walked, the scents of spice, fruit, cooking meat, and quite a few others she couldn't name or that mixed too well to differentiate mingled in the air and wafted through the crowd. She let herself enjoy the fragrance of one of her favorite styles of stir-fry as she walked, and then sneezed violently and tried not to cough as something burned and not particularly appetizing hit her nose.

Sakura caught sight of a stall that displayed what looked oddly like green and blue jell-O on a stick. The sticks had something that appeared to be flour-ish all over them, which smelled suspiciously like fish. _I think I'll leave that one alone._

She started searching for a place to stay. There were two hotels she bypassed before settling on the third. It was a modest little inn that offered one room plus breakfast and dinner for a very reasonable price. _Well, reasonable compared to the rest of this place, anyway. I better find these scrolls fast...now I know why Tsunade-sama lent me so much money for this mission! She wasn't being overly nice, this place would suck my purse dry in a day!_

After reserving a room, she went back out to look around some more. While taking in the sights of the prospering village, Sakura automatically memorized all the different paths back to her inn, and later she made sure to find the fastest ways out of the entire village itself.

_Naruto would love this,_ she decided as she skipped out of the way of two more children. A determined little boy with messy bluish hair and a stubborn chin that jutted out chased his older sister through the crowd, who laughed as she looked back at him and dared him to catch her. Neither of them was over ten. Sakura's hop out of their path put her in range of yet another vendor, who began calling enthusiastically "Ah, a beautiful lady! Would the lovely young woman want some pretty jewelry to show off her sweet looks? Come right over, we're excellently priced! The most exquisite pieces from Masters of every Village!"

Sakura glanced at the trinkets and glittering jewelry, all of which actually were quite beautiful. She didn't want any of them and doubted she could afford them if she did. However, the man himself seemed nice enough, if overly loud. Maybe he had directions to some low-priced food, since everything she'd seen so far seemed exaggeratingly expensive...

**With Hinata**

(A/N: This has a point, I promise.)

Hinata carefully stretched the stiff fabric over the delicate frame, deftly securing it there. It was different hues and shades of green, all of them blending and melding together so that if you tried to find where one green ended and another began it would be impossible, but when you looked at the fabric as a whole it became obvious that there was more than one tone.

She studied it carefully, critically going over every thread-grain to make sure it was exactly where she wanted it. Maybe she was being a little too anal retentive, but it was important to her that this look just right...

Satisfied with the layout, Hinata set it aside and picked up a little box with threads and a needle inside. The box was carved ornamented wood, scrolled designs worn smooth and shiny with age. Opening it, she chose a shining silver thread that looked just like the true metal. She held the needle and easily threaded it before cutting off the desired length of string.

Taking up the oddly-shaped frame with the fabric she had just stretched over it, she let her eyes dart across it briefly. Then, having decided on the exact design she wished, Hinata nimbly inserted the needle and started stitching.

Almost four hours later, the beginnings of an intricate design could be seen in the glittering silver threads, beautiful even though it was only the barest sketchings of the graceful thing it would become.

Hinata's fingers hurt like hell; she decided to stop for now. It wouldn't do her any good to screw up because her hands were tired, and it was almost eleven in the morning anyway.

She carefully packed everything away in the ornate little box. Standing, she almost fell over; her entire lower half was completely numb. "Ow," she muttered, catching herself against the wall. It took a few minutes, but she was finally able to walk again without too many pins and needles in her muscles.

She hid the box in her room before going outside to sit under a tree just inside the front gate. It would do her any good to train today; she had completely mastered anything that she had ever been taught so far. The only things she had left to learn required having a partner to train with, and no one was available. She needed to master the art of fighting multiple people by herself (which required multiple people to fight), the more advanced uses of her bloodline (which required someone to teach them to her, and no one was available at the moment), and tracking with simple woods-knowledge and her special eyesight (which required someone to track).

She knew there was no point in going to the Festival of Families today; Sakura was gone, Hanabi was sick, and Neji and her father both refused to attend.

Even those who had recently lost family members, or who were unfortunate enough to have no remaining family, could and did attend this Festival; unlike the celebration recognized by the world outside the hidden villages, the shinobi had added theor own caring touch the originally cheerful and upbeat holiday: a ceremony at midnight to honor those fallen or passed on. This way, those who had recently lost a family member could grieve openly, and look around to see others saddened just as much and sharing in the pain of loss and newfound loneliness. Sometimes, just seeing others hurting just as badly was the greatest comfort there was.

"Hinata-chan!" called a loud voice that made her heart jump into her throat and stay there. She jerked her head up and saw Naruto outside the gate, waving energetically and grinning like an idiot.

He hadn't changed much since he hit 14; he had decided he liked the version of orange clothing he wore then and never altered it. With the exception of quite a few inches and a chuunin vest, Uzumaki Naruto looked exactly the same as he had three years ago.

"H-hi, Naruto-kun," she stammered shyly, feeling her cheeks burn and trying to make them stop.

"I was heading over there to train," he explained, pointing off to his left, away from the main village and toward one of the smaller training grounds. "I didn't think you would be here, though. I thought you'd be getting ready for the Festival. What's up?"

Hinata was momentarily taken aback. Naruto had actually remembered when a celebration was? He normally couldn't even remember his own birthday; she and Sakura had to remind him every year. "Um…no one would go with me," she near-whispered. "I—I didn't want to go alone."

Naruto thought that over. Hinata decided his 'thinking' face was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. Except for his 'victory' face or his 'confused' face or his 'determined' face or his 'hungry' face or his 'don't-give-up-I-believe-in-you' face or—

Scratch that. Uzumaki Naruto was striking on his own; thinking of specifics threatened to turn into a long, long list. The expression on his face was inconsequential.

"I've never gone to this Festival," he said after a moment. "I didn't like being the only one without a family to share it with. And everyone always looked at me weird anyway." Suddenly he brightened and exclaimed cheerfully "Hey, we could go together! That way, neither of us would be alone!"

Hinata felt so happy she wouldn't have noticed the ground opening up and swallowing her then and there. If she had been more outgoing, she might have said she was bursting with overwhelming joy. As it was, she only knew that this was the strongest euphoria she had ever experienced.

She tried to respond, to tell him that she would love to go with him…and her voice wouldn't work. Her eyes were shining with her overwhelming elation and her heart roared like thunder in her ears, but she couldn't have said 'yes' to save her life.

Naruto, who happened to be terrible at reading expressions and/or body language, took her silence and surprise as rejection. He wilted slightly for a moment, but then he forced the happy-go-lucky grin back on his face, appearing only a little strained, and said as cheerfully as he could "That's ok. It's not like I'm gonna miss something I've never seen." He managed a cheery wave as he turned to walk away. "Bye, Hinata-chan!"

_Ah! Oh no, come back Naruto!_ Hinata scrambled to her feet, throwing herself against the gate and fumbling with the ornamental lock as he started to walk away from her. "N—Naruto-kun! _Wait!"_ she cried out, bursting through the iron-wrought gate and sprinting after him.

Naruto paused and turned to look over his shoulder, puzzlement written in every line of his body. Hinata could almost imagine seeing a question mark over his head. She ran up to him, breathless from more than the short run and exclaimed passionately "Yes!"

"Eh?" he tilted his head, looking down at her. A small glimmer of hope was flitting in the backs of his beautiful cerulean eyes.

Shyness returned full force to smother her in self-consciousness. She flushed hotly and stammered softly "I…I would love to go to the Festival with you, Naruto-kun." She restrained herself only slightly from poking her fingers together, a habit that hadn't left her through the years. She was struggling even to keep her head up, and couldn't meet his eyes.

He blinked, then beamed hugely. It seemed to almost split his face. "Al_right!"_ He almost jumped in the air. Then suddenly he froze and glanced almost apprehensively down at her.

Hinata waited nervously, fearing something terrible was about to happen. She could feel her heart sink lower and lower, a tight coil of anxiety gripping her inside. Had she done something? What was it? Was he going somewhere else and couldn't make it after all? Had she upset him?

"Uh, Hinata-chan…" he said hesitantly.

She knew it! It _was _her, there was something wrong with her. What if he thought she was some kind of freak? What if he didn't _like_ quiet girls? Why couldn't she be loud like Sakura so he would like her? She was near to tears with sudden self-loathing and fear, and just as she was about to work herself into an insecure, nervous breakdown, Naruto asked haltingly

"What time does the Festival of Families start?"

**With Sakura**

By the time the sun had started to set, Sakura had almost perfectly memorized almost every public and obvious building. With a mental map firmly in the back of her head, she made her way back to the hotel.

She thought back to her last conversation with Tsunade before leaving. She had visited the Hokage again, to ask a few more questions. Tsunade had said that one of the people currently involved went by the name Mizu, and he would definitely know where the scrolls were hidden. Unfortunately, he was something of an enigma, and the things known about him weren't exactly helpful.

One: he was never alone. He always had someone with him, which made it harder to sneak up on him and just kidnap him for a bit to ask questions. Usually, it was believed, he never had less than three around him. Apparently he didn't have a love life.

Two: There was a scar on his right cheek, jagged and shaped like a single ocean wave. That was a little more useful, but that was _it._ No eye color, hair color, age, other aliases, anything. Distinctive as the scar would be, Sakura knew it would be no great task to just cover it up.

**With Naruto**

After Hinata had told him what time the celebration started, Naruto decided he still had time to train. He had promised he would be back in two hours to pick her up, and then he'd left.

He wasn't really paying attention to much, and therefore he didn't see the root that tripped him. He fell flat on his face with a thump, getting dirt in his mouth which he hastily spat out.

Before he got up, he looked straight ahead and got one of the larger surprises of his life.

Sasuke was sitting on the ground, not moving. He hadn't changed much since childhood, remaining infuriatingly taller than Naruto. He had matured into a young man that was at once less feminine and more attractive than the pretty boy had been. The Uchiha jacket had been replaced by a Chuunin vest and a loose navy blue t-shirt, the shorts he had worn as a boy replaced by infinitely-pocketed white pants.

Naruto didn't move, studying the Uchiha. Long moments passed, and nothing happened. _He's trying to trap me again, I know it. This is a trick. It has to be a ruse…_Still nothing.

Patience had never been a quality Naruto acquired by any means. He stood up and stalked over to Sasuke, hiding himself perfectly. Poised over the head of his quarry, he took a moment to congratulate himself on finally succeeding in outsmarting the stuck-up rival.

"_BOO!"_

Nothing. No reaction from the raven-haired boy.

_That took the fun out of it._ Deflated, Naruto relaxed from his 'scary-attack' stance to stand, scratching his head, looking down at the unresponsive Sasuke. He appeared literally lost in his thoughts. Eyes glazed, breathing shallow but even. Brows furrowed. Naruto poked him experimentally. Stiff and tense. Amused, Naruto poked him again. And again. _Poke. Poke. Po—_

"Gyaarg!" Sasuke's hand had come up faster than Naruto's eyes could follow, slapping him away and causing him to yelp. Suddenly the blonde was pinned facedown on the ground, with even more dirt in his mouth than the first time. "Dammit Sasuke, what's your problem!" he yelled complainingly as he spit violently to rid himself of the earthy taste.

There was a pause, a moment of silence above him. Then Sasuke moved away. "Don't surprise me like that," he said flatly.

"If you would pay attention, I wouldn't _have_ to," grumbled Naruto, rubbing his very sore hand. Sasuke didn't reply. Without another word, the raven-haired boy turned and left.

Naruto was completely confused by now. _He's being weirder than usual._ He looked back to where he'd been sitting. There was nothing to show Sasuke hadn't been there all night. In fact, the only area of ground not still covered in dew was where the Uchiha had crouched. Why would he sit there all night?

Naruto felt decidedly odd. There was something not quite right going on, but he didn't know what it was. Suddenly uneasy, he decided that he could put off training until after the Festival. Right now, he didn't feel like being alone.

**With Hinata (one hout later)**

Hinata stood uncertainly in front of her closet, trying desperately to pick something to wear. She had a few different choices, but as she went over each one in her mind she kept finding reasons why something wasn't good enough. She kept deciding she didn't like this or that, or that something else was better. Why did this have to be so _hard?_

_  
I wish Sakura was here—she has no problems with things like this! Or Ino. She always looks pretty, and she never even seems to _try._ Even TenTen would be better at this than me!_

Hinata desperately discarded several dresses, quite a few pairs of pants or skirts, and a white kimono. Nothing seemed right! As soon as she decided one on thing, she held it up to herself and suddenly it seemed ugly. The moment she picked out an item, something else was a hundred times better.

_I don't want to dress up too much; I don't think Naruto will be,_ she thought, biting her lip as she pulled out and laid out a floral, slightly frilly dress. _But I don't want to look like I do every day either!_ She tossed aside a pair of loose, flexible and comfortable jeans that were almost identical to the ones she wore. _Why does this have to be so confusing?_

She was getting increasingly anxious, desperate to find the right thing to wear. Finally she just closed her eyes and released her tattered lip. _I'll just reach out and grab something. Just out…and grab…_ Nervously, she did so, her fingers touching something silky.

Quickly tugging it out before she could change her mind, Hinata hesitantly cracked an eye and glanced down at what she had chosen.

It was a dark, purplish-indigo obi, the same color as her tousled hair. Its sleek, silken shine made her think of dark deep water.

Now that she had something to start with, choosing everything else seemed just a little easier. Only _slightly_ easier since she was still fretting, but at least she had something to coordinate with now. She picked up again and re-discarded the heavy white kimono, feeling it wasn't right somehow. Hinata bit her lip again, brows furrowing slightly, and burrowed deeper into her dresser, which was increasingly easy to do as more things were pulled out and strewn over various pieces of furniture or her bed.

Reaching all the way to the back, she tugged on something light-colored that had caught her eye. Held delicately in her slender fingers was now a pale kimono. It was light blue, like a robin's delicate egg, and lightweight. It was nowhere near as heavy as the white one she had already rejected.

When she held up the obi and kimono together, Hinata smiled to herself. The two different shades of blue were perfect together, and the dark one-inch band that formed the border of the kimono was the same deep hue as the obi. Studying the kimono up and down, she noticed that on the left side of the robe there was a little design embroidered there, one she hadn't noticed until now. A small, intricate design of delicate indigo vines made a graceful swirl near the corner, pretty and complimenting without being too noticeable or gaudy at all.

Laying the silk clothing carefully aside, Hinata left and went into the bathroom to tackle the next problem—her hair.

_(half an hour later)_

Hinata clasped her hands tightly together to keep from poking her fingers together. Having given up on fixing her hair herself, she now stood next to an increasingly annoyed Yumi, who was muttering to herself vehemently.

"Come on, flower…jes' git _in_ there an' stay put!" The stubborn woman fumed. She was intent on making a small white lily nestle in Hinata's dark hair above her right ear. The flower was hardly bigger than her small round ear even with its petals completely unfurled.

With a few more grumbled words, a small twist of silky hair, and a tiny hairpin, Yumi managed to make the delicate flower stay in place.

She stepped back with her hands on her hips to glare at—uh that is, _survey_—her handiwork. Her intimidating demeanor softened slightly as she met Hinata's wide eyes.

The kimono fit Hinata perfectly, hugging the contours and curves that had only been toned by training rather than diminished. Her obi exactly matched her purple-indigo hair and the borders of the kimono, and the exquisite vine designs brought out the single white lily.

When she moved even slightly, the silk _shh-_ed softly like water or wind through reeds, sliding smoothly against her porcelain skin. The pale blue brought a slightly blush to her cheeks, dusting her light face. Her sandaled feet made no noise on the carpet underneath them as she turned slightly to look out the ornamented window at the road, which was slightly visible from where she stood.

Naruto wasn't there yet. _Of course_, she told herself firmly_. He really wouldn't be here half an hour early…I shouldn't expect him to be. Maybe he'll even be here late. Stop worrying,_ she urged herself. It didn't work, of course. But it had been worth a shot.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata called on the patience she knew she had in herself somewhere. To her immense surprise, it actually came. Gradually she calmed herself down as she headed outside and sat on the porch. She still watched the front gate, but now it was with an alert sort of shy serenity, instead of the anxious nerves she'd been burning up until then.

She even managed to _not_ poke her fingers together while she waited. Hinata did have a large attention span, no longer easily distracted at all. She hardly blinked, just watched the gate. After fifteen minutes, Yumi stuck her head out and said gruffly "Where _is_ that boy?"

"It's still early, Yumi-san," stammered Hinata softly. "He…might not be here for a while."

"If that boy is late, he's gonna _get_ it," warned Yumi, glaring scarily at the gate. Hinata licked her lower lip, tongue barely flicking out.

"Don't blame Naruto-kun…he loses track of things…" she trailed off; Yumi wasn't listening anymore, having noticed the little cobweb in the corner of the doorway.

Cursing the tiny spider that perched obliviously in the glittering silver filaments, the maid went back inside to get a rag, intending to clean its home and its unsuspecting self out of the prized little corner.

The minutes passed. Hinata glanced at the little ornamental garden-clock in the yard, which conveniently perched amid the trimmed, abundant greenery that decorated most of the property.

_Two minutes to go. Where are you, Naruto-kun?_

She could almost feel sorry for the little spider about to lose its home.

_One minute. Did you forget?_

Poor thing, never even seeing the approaching doom that would spell its end.

_Thirty seconds…_

**With Sakura**

Sakura sighed as she opened the front door to the hotel, blowing some of her longer bangs out of her eye. And then suddenly she stopped, frozen with the door half-open.

There was a group of four people sitting at one of the tables. They were the only ones in the common room. One woman and three men were eating the hotel's over-priced food and playing cards at the same time. All of them had the lean, dangerous grace of killers, and something in their eyes let Sakura know they were all shinobi. Even without any kind of identification, it was obvious they had seen death and been the cause of most of it—well, obvious to her at least.

And as one man pulled aside his face mask to eat, a wave-shaped scar was revealed on his right cheek.

* * *

Ok that's it for now! I'm in kind of a hurry (I keep getting booted off the net) so the replies will be short, but I think I got everyone...go ahead and skip to the end if you haven't reviewed since obviously then I wouldn't be saying anything to you...

* * *

_Yokaigirl-_san:  
Gaara kind of thing? Never thought about that, but I like that idea. I'm going to werite something with him in it next I think...soon as I finish this one... 

_cocoa-latte-_san:  
Thanks.

_Magus Black-_san:  
Whoops does that mean I'm being too negative? -sweatdrop- I'm kind of hard on myself...um.

_understar-_san:  
Oh ok! I think that scene was my favorite too...very fun to write.

_Sasuke-Is-Mine_  
That is IT! All of your reviews are now REMOVED. No one should ever be able to just click a link and read what you wrote! Do you realize that there are KIDS here? If you think this sucks, fine, _stop reading it!_ I'm tired of you flaming me for no damn reason! Take your sorry, Sasuke-obsessed self to some other story that you _like,_ and **LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!**

_Dagorwen of Ithilien_-san:  
Ok, here it is!

_neu chi no nai u-_san:  
I had intended o make her shut him up a little longer, but I ran out of insults (I was in a hurry) -embarrassed sweatdrop-

_Bevy-chan:  
_Thanks for the thumbs-up

_Silver dark rose_-san:  
Yeah I know...I was wondering that myself, since really I don't think a self-respecting criminal would rob flower shop... Behold the products of 3am writing...

_Shiroi Hikari_-san:  
Why can't you log in? Is there something wrong with your account? (panics: oh no what if it gets ME?)

_mad-killer-bunnies-alert_-san:  
Yes, let's kick his self-centered butt to another anime! –evil cackle-

_SilverMoons BlackWings_-san:  
Part of that will already happen –grins- such a good idea...I'm going to have to fit that in somehow.

_Umino Ayame_-chan:  
No you can NOT stab him now. He's still necessary. (Everybody applaud Ayame for sticking it out, she really can't stand the main characters of this fic) Thank you, that would make her 13. Perfect, cool.

_Hao'sAnjul_-san:  
Yep, I updated! I too have three oreight updates to read...haven't been checking my mail.

* * *

Alrighty! Off to write the next chapter! I can't give you an estimate as to when I'll be posting, I have exams all next week and I will have very little time...which I will spend sleeping. -insomniac-

Thank you toEVERYONE for reading, you rock!

Kage


	9. And Silver Bells Chimed

Chapter 9: And Silver Bells Chimed

No, not _those_ bells…-sweatdrop-

_Note to TrueLoveHurts-san:_ no please believe me, you would regret kidnapping Shiroari, she chews EVERYTHING, not just wood...but I'll take that tea...

**Keep this poem in mind as you get near the end**:

_Roses are red, _

_Violets are blue,_

_Something cheesy,_

_I love you_

And now instead of explaining the significance of that poem (which I happen to dislike above all other love poems) we explain that I own NOTHING! Except Yumi she's mine, and the cellar, and oh yeah the anti-psychotics in the cupboard—I mean, uh, ON WITH THE STORY!

* * *

_And Silver Bells Chimed_

He hadn't come.

Hinata stared desolately at the gate, lost and with tears forming in her silver eyes. _How could he…? But…he…Naruto-kun…you promised…_

She sank down to her knees, the hope and anxiety in her face being replaced by shock. Stunned, she just knelt there, unable to breathe properly around the choking depression.

From inside the mansion, Yumi's sharp furious voice called "That boy is _dead!_" There was a bustle noise, and then "Hinata-sama, come inside before you get a sunburn!"

Hinata didn't hear her. She just stared dumbly at the gate, deaf and blind to everything but the road beyond it…the road where Naruto was supposed to have come. The _empty_ road.

"_Wait!"_

The sound of running feet penetrated the heavy air, through the dark fog of despair Hinata was sinking into. A sudden curse filled the atmosphere and one of the decorative bushes along-side the road was mauled over.

The cause of said mauling was now stuck rather painfully within its prickly confines, swearing and yelping in pain. "Dammit, stupid bush—ow—_there!"_

Naruto toppled out of it, looking rather mussed from the battle. He scrambled toward the gate, almost tripping on his way there. He was breathing hard, puffing and exhausted. "I made it!" he yelled desperately. "I—made…it! I'm not late, I—(puff)—swear!" He was still sprinting toward the gate, arms waving frantically. Reaching it, he stopped and doubled over to clutch his knees, sides heaving. "I'm…here!" he gasped out.

"Naruto-kun!" cried Hinata, forgetting her shyness in her joy and running forward (well, as much as it's possible to run in a kimono, anyway, which it isn't) and opening the gate. "You came!"

"I'm not late!" he gasped out, looking up at her through the bright hair that had fallen over his face. "Sorry, Hinata-chan!"

"Naruto!" Yumi's threatening, intimidating voice filled the air with dangerous thunder. The aptly named future-dead-boy flinched and looked scared for a moment.

"Uh…hi Yumi-san!" he called, trying to be cheerful and nonchalant and managing to sound only a little nervous.

"You're late, boy!" she snapped, holding her feather duster like a real weapon—which, in her hands, it was, and far deadlier than a kunai.

"Sorry! I—"

"Let's go," whispered Hinata quickly, taking his hand and pulling him after her. She didn't think about it being a forward move or how he might take it; she just wanted to get him away from Yumi before the intimidating woman had a good chance to squish him.

She had gone about a hundred yards before she realized that she was still holding his hand. She blushed furiously and tried to let go, thinking _Oh no, what if he thinks I'm flirting! He must think I'm as bad as Ino-san!_

But he didn't release her hand. He was walking beside her normally, completely at ease with holding her right hand in his left. He wasn't looking at her, but watching the sky, the perfect blue dome that was the same color as his beautiful eyes.

"Um…Naruto-kun?" she whispered hesitantly, forcing the words out through her suddenly very tight, dry throat.

"Huh? Sorry!" he exclaimed, stopping and then running around in front of her to stare sincerely into her eyes and grasping her hand earnestly. "I really didn't mean to be late, I just—I wasn't _all_ that late, I swear!" he explained in a rush, pleading with his eyes for her to believe him. He managed to look cute and terribly earnest without appearing pathetic or whiny in any way. "I'll try harder next time, okay? Don't be mad at me!"

"Um—it's…it's ok, Naruto-kun," she stammered, telling him with her eyes, which were very wide now, not to worry about it. _As if I could ever be mad at you, Naruto-kun._ "It's—not that. It's just…um…" she held up her right hand, which was still entwined with his left.

"What is it?" he asked, confused. "Is there something wrong with your hands?" He studied them. Her hand was white as porcelain, so pale he could see the blue paths of the veins in her wrist. His own hand was darker, golden, and larger than her small appendage.

"Well…no," she mumbled shyly, still blushing. "It's just…we're…we're—holding hands…"

"Oh!" he seemed to realize this for the first time. "Yeah." He stared at their hands, blinking once. "Cool! I've never held a girl's hand before," he said excitedly. "Have you?" He stopped, frowning a little. "That didn't come out right. I mean, have you ever held a boy's hand before?"

Hinata thought she might die now, her face was burning so intensely. Mutely, she shook her head since her voice had completely abandoned her. 'Embarrassed' would have been an incredible understatement…

"Neat!" he said cheerfully. Their hands swung slightly as he pulled her forward a little, encouraging her to move faster. He darted a sideways look at her, a sort of scheming expression on his face. "You know," he said carefully and far too casually, a sly undertone in his voice she'd never heard before creeping into his demeanor, "I've never been kissed by a girl either…"

"Naruto-kun!" she yelped in shock. If she thought she'd been blushing before, Hinata was a burning inferno of self-consciousness and discomfiture now. Not to say that she would have _minded_ if he kissed her—in fact, she probably would have fainted out of joy—but for him to just come out and _say_ what she'd been daydreaming about for years made her want to hide under a rock and stay there.

"I was just kidding!" he said hastily, backing off immediately and laughing. "Joking, I promise!" He was grinning his huge signature 'naruto-grin' (for lack of a better description) and his eyes were squinted closed, free hand behind his head. Inwardly grateful that Hinata was not the fiery demoness Sakura could be when hit on (since he would have been in a considerable amount of pain if she were), he laughed "No kiss! I'm not a pervert, like ero-sennin."

Hinata's flushing calmed slightly and she nodded a little. She pushed away the strange feeling of vague disappointment and grasped his hand a little tighter with her slender fingers.

Sitting at the ramen booth, Naruto's mind wandered again to Sasuke. He had been doing rather well so far with staying on track an taking in all the sights around him, but the behavior of his teammate/rival were just so _odd—_

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Gyah!" He leapt off the stool and fell over, toppling to the ground with his legs still entangled in the wooden stool.

"Oh!" Hinata slipped off her stool and knelt to help him, freeing his legs and looking intently into his eyes to make sure he wasn't in pain.

"It's okay, Hinata-chan," he said hastily, highly embarrassed.

"Did I startle you? I—I'm sorry. I…didn't mean to," she whispered.

"No really it's ok!" he exclaimed, bouncing back up to his feet and extending a hand to help her as well. "It's just, well, you're really _quiet;_ sometimes it's hard to tell you're there," he explained. "It's just a little surprising when you say anything, is all."

"Oh." She looked a little crestfallen.

Naruto tried to explain himself, not wanting to hurt her. "There's nothing wrong with being quiet!" he exclaimed. "I'm just not used to it." He paused as a little girl with a kitten ran by. "Maybe you should wear a bell, like a cat," he said brightly, joking to lighten the mood. For some reason it was very important to him that Hinata not be sad. "Then there's no way you could fade into the background!"

"A…bell?" she murmured in surprise.

"Yeah!" he said, warming to the subject and grinning widely. "A silver one, to go with your pretty eyes!"

It was such a sincere, innocent statement, and his face was so open and honest, that it was impossible not to be touched by him. A woman far more jaded than Hinata would have been swayed by that accidental, completely unintentionally flattering remark; the Hyuuga heir herself was overwhelmed, small tears forming in her eyes as she smiled and felt herself floating through happy clouds. If this was a dream, she prayed she would never ever wake up…

Thinking the tears were sad, he moaned "Oh no, I made it _worse!"_ More clearly, he said "Hinata-chan I'm really sorry, I didn't mean what I said about you being quiet! And you don't have to wear a bell, I'll try harder! Please don't be sad!"

She smiled wider, the expression breaking free of the limits of her usual shy half-smile. "I'm not sad, Naruto-kun," she said happily. "You…you're making this the best day of my life." And she giggled at the confused look on his face, his expression reminding her of a beautiful frog.

Over the course of the day, the two of them managed to make it the happiest event for either of them in a long time. Hinata blossomed under the attention Naruto gave her (which, in typical Uzumaki style, was open, sincere, and entirely unaware of any effect on her whatsoever), and he in turn warmed to the way she actually paid _attention_ to him and listened to what she said. For both of them, this was a new experience, and a very enjoyable one.

Eventually, Naruto even got Hinata to open up a little bit about her family. "Father is so unhappy that I'm weak," she sighed. Her stutter had mostly disappeared after her first glass of sake (someone had been giving out free samples of rice wine, and they'd both tried some, with the result that they were both just a little bit tipsy). "I am, too—I want to be strong. But even Hanabi is stronger than I am, and Neji…Neji hates me," she whispered. Tears welled in her silver eyes.

Naruto looked sad and a little serious, displaying one of his rare somber faces. "Neji is just…angry," he said after a moment. "I don't know why, really—hey! I have an idea!" he exclaimed suddenly.

Hinata perked up a little. Anything that would help her with her cousin was a bonus to her; she didn't like living with people who hated her, and even one person who liked her would be an improvement.

"Lock him up!" exclaimed Naruto excitedly, hiccupping a little bit at the end of the sentence but covering it well.

"…what?" she was completely lost now. _What does this have to do with anything? And Neji doesn't need to go to jail…just a psychologist…_

"Lock him up somewhere—maybe that scroll-thing you have behind your house, that'll hold him—and make him stay there until he tells you what his problem is!" The huge grin on his face made it difficult to be angry or exasperated with him.

_Neji would kill me! Not to mention I would never be able to get him in there in the first place._ "Um…Naruto-kun…that might not…and besides, he'd never talk to me."

"Sure he will! Leave him there long enough and he'll talk to _anyone!_ Even Ino, I bet!" Suddenly there was a thoughtful, evil-scheming look on his face. "That would be really funny…" he muttered to himself, laughter hiding in his sky-colored eyes.

"Uh Naruto-kun, that's not a good idea," said Hinata hastily, picturing what would happen if she locked Neji and Ino up together. _Yumi-san would kill me—bloodstains are really hard to get out…_

"Aw fine," he grumbled.

Yumi glared suspiciously at Naruto when he brought Hinata back, and chased her up to bed with barely enough time to say good-bye. He made a hasty exit out the door and away from the grounds, getting the feeling that if he stayed he would be cross-examined and turned inside out.

"Is Sakura-chan back yet?" asked Hinata, coming back to say good-night to Yumi and return the flower in her hair.

"If Haruno-san came back, she didn' stop by," said Yumi. "How'd the day go?"

"It was wonderful," said Hinata, laying the flower gently on the table. She didn't say anything else, but she must have looked rather star-struck and infatuated because Yumi snorted in disgusted amusement and said "Git. Off to bed, _now."_

Not really sleepy yet, Hinata lay awake beneath her blankets and thought over what Naruto had said.

_Lock him up?_ That would only make Neji angrier, she was sure of it. He would see it as her flaunting her power over him, holding it over his head, not as her trying to reach him. And besides, she couldn't stay by the cell forever, and he would probably just go to the other side and refuse to talk to her anyway.

_But…what if I was locked up with him? Then there's no way he could accuse me of being better-treated than him—we'd be on equal ground._

_Except, of course, that he would very likely kill me and I'd have nowhere to run._

But how else was she supposed to get him to talk to her? Already, he was eighteen; it wouldn't be long before he decided to move out on his own and she would lose him forever. Although that would also mean she could _avoid_ him, Hinata knew she'd be afraid of him and ashamed for the rest of her life if she didn't face her fears and deal with the problem now.

The 'scroll thing' Naruto had referred to for confining Neji was a stone cellar behind the Hyuuga mansion with a few air-slits and a heavy iron door. It wasn't really used for anything anymore, but it was kept in good repair by Yumi, free of mold or damp or dust. It used to hold artifacts of her clan, and so was infused with the chakra of each successive Head of the family, making it an impenetrable fortress about three yards long and three wide.

_I think…I think I will,_ she thought, surprising herself with her own boldness. It was a forward, very open and rather courage-requiring move, completely unlike her. _I'll do it tomorrow. I'll ask Yumi-san for help; I don't thinks he likes him very much and she'd be happy to get him out of her way for a while._

Having settled her indecision, Hinata drifted off to sleep, dreaming of Naruto and little silver bells that chimed softly.

The Next Day

Hinata rose early and padded silently out of her room, searching the house for Yumi. She found the maid in the kitchen, swearing loudly at the large oblivious stain she was doing her best to utterly annihilate.

"Um…Yumi-san?" she ventured timidly, almost afraid to interrupt.

"Damn splotch! —oh, yes, Hinata-sama?" Yumi glanced up at her briefly before returning to her attack upon the offending mark.

"Um…yesterday, with Naruto-kun…he…"

"That boy try anything?" snapped Yumi curtly and vehemently, startling Hinata into jumping a little with her abruptness.

"No! Naruto-kun isn't like that, Yumi-san," stammered Hinata, getting over her surprise.

"Good; I didn't feel like taking the time to kill his sorry ass," she said without looking up. "Then what is it?" Her voice was harsher than usual due to her frustration with the stubborn stain.

"Uh, well…he um suggested…a—a way to help with…to help with things between—between me and Neji-nii-san," she managed to stutter out. She was poking her fingers together and one toe was tracing little circles on the floor.

The swearing stopped abruptly, the last curse frozen in mid-syllable. So did the vigorous scrubbing/scraping sounds. Hinata darted a curious glance up at Yumi, who was regarding her with an unreadable expression. She was gracing the heir with her full attention, straightening bit by bit as she said slowly "Did he now." Her voice was as neutral as her face. "…and what did he suggest?"

This was the difficult part; she felt her tongue freeze and stick to the roof of her mouth. It had all made sense in her head last night, but saying it out loud would make it sound silly and futile, an idiotic attempt that would harm more than help. "Um…h-he suggested that I…that I lock us up together until...lock in the scroll-cellar out back…until he talks to me…and…and tells me…"

Yumi wasn't giving her any indication to how she felt or what she was thinking, neither encouraging nor disapproving as Hinata stammered.

The next part came out in a rush of words as Hinata let her frustration through: "Until he tells me why he hates me so much! Until he finally lets me _in!_"

There was evaluation in her gaze now. Not approval, but not disgust either. "Let me repeat this," she said slowly. Most of the accent of her dialect was gone from her voice now as she carefully formed every word. "You want to lock yourself and your cousin in the cellar used for artifacts, and not let either of you out until he opens up and talks to you?"

Hinata blushed in shame and looked down at her toes. "Yes," she whispered, voice barely audible.

A caw of harsh, hearty laughter made her look up sharply in surprise. _"Perfect!"_ crowed Yumi enthusiastically.

It took careful planning on both their parts to make it work. They ended up drugging the water bottle he kept near his bed, since he drank from it right before he went to bed every night. They waited for it to take effect (which didn't take all that long—Yumi knew her herbs, and he'd been tired anyway), and then dragged him out to the cellar and put him in it. Hinata climbed in after him and Yumi supplied blankets and two pillows.

Hinata made a bed up for Neji and maneuvered him into it (no easy task—muscle is a lot heavier than fat, and there was a lot more of the first than the latter on him, and she wasn't particularly strong), and then used the remaining blankets and pillow for herself.

Yumi locked the door and activated the chakra seals that would keep both of them inside an everyone else outside, then with a last chuckle she headed inside.

Surprisingly enough, it didn't take Hinata all that long to fall asleep. Even without training hard that day, the nerves it had taken to plan and carry out Neji's sort-of-kidnapping had drained her considerably. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was Neji's sleeping form a few feet away, expression unnaturally peaceful in slumber.

"What the _HELL_ is going on!" Neji's outraged yell woke her up rather early the next morning.

_He's taking this a lot better than I thought he would._ "Um…Good morning, Neji-nii-san," she said.

"Why are we in here?" he demanded anrily, turning to glare at her. Hinata started to shrink back, but for some reason soft bells chimed in the back of her mind and she stopped herself from cowering.

"Yumi-san locked us in," she said without so much as a single stammer, although the words were a little slow.

"Why?" he repeated, his snarl unusually expressive. _I have to train today, and Hokage-sama expected me later! What the hell was that woman thinking?_

"We…we're in here until you…until you tell me exactly _why_ you hate me so much," said Hinata softly.

"_What?"_ he growled quietly. Suddenly Hinata was out of her blankets and pressed up against the wall, held there by a cool hand just below her throat. She could still breathe, but the threat was there and very real.

"Until you either s-stop hating me for some reason, or at least tell me what it is," she answered as levelly as she could. She didn't drop her eyes although she dearly wanted to stared at the floor and poke her fingers together. She clenched her fists at her sides so she wouldn't be tempted. The memory of her dream, the silver bells, for some reason gave her the boldness to at least stare as high as his chin.

Disgusted, Neji dropped her and turned away, stalking to the other end of the cellar and standing there stonily. Hinata leaned against the wall, rubbing her throat and trying to keep her gasps of air quiet so as not to disturb him.

_Should I…should I press?...no, I'll let him be for now. He'll come around eventually. He _has_ to…no one can remain silent forever._

It might not have been forever, but it was still one hell of a long time. Neji ignored her with double the determination he had ever shown before, and none of his anger had disappeared in the slightest—if anything, he seemed to be re-nursing old hurt and resentment.

Hinata was absolutely miserable. She could feel the bitterness and dislike rolling off him and filling the entire cell, choking her with his antipathy until she wanted to cry.

The only thing that kept her from begging Yumi to let them out when the maid came feed them was the vague memory of delicate chiming, faintly glittering in the back of her mind.

After his initial outburst, her cousin remained completely silent. It was a week before he said anything to her at all, and then his words were clipped and harsh-sounding.

"Why…do you want to know my reasons for hating you?" he asked coldly.

She was so surprised that he'd _said_ something to her that she didn't answer right away. Realizing he was getting impatient, she collected herself and said "Because…because I never understood." She stopped and shook her head. "I—you used to like me, when we were little. I remember you were nice—you were the only nice person in the whole family," she added, sighing softly. "I—I just want to know…what happened. What changed. It was almost overnight, you just—stopped being nice. You were always angry with me and I never knew why. I know now that I really wasn't being singled out by you like I thought I was—you really don't care for any of the family, do you? But still…I want to understand. I still like you, Neij-nii-san," she whispered. "Even if you hate it, you're my family, and no matter how cold you are I will always…always care for you. I just…want to know."

He didn't reply. Hinata wasn't even sure he was still listening to her. She sat back against the wall, curled into a ball, and put her head between her knees.

Yumi's P.O.V.

The house seemed a lot emptier without Hinata and Neji there. It wasn't that it was any _quieter_; nither of them were loud people. But their distinct personalities were missing, and although she didn't miss Neji's brooding silence in the least, Hinata's gentle cheer had lightened her work considerably in the past (although she'd never _tell_ the girl that). It became a chore to cook and clean rather than a job she enjoyed to an extent.

The loud blond boy Hinata was so fond of stopped by after two days, ringing the freaking doorbell and calling for her until Yumi thought her head might explode (or her temper, which was rather short). Finally she stomped out of the house and bellowed

"Shut _up,_ dammit!"

He closed his mouth with a rather audible snap and a startled expression. "Um…Yumi-san?" he said uncertaintly. "Where's Hinata-chan?"

"With Neji-san," answered Yumi, putting her hands on her hips.

"Huh? I though they didn't like each other," he said with a frown.

Yumi wondered for a moment if he was playing with her or if he'd really forgotten that it been _his_ suggestion in the first place. She decided he'd forgotten and said "They don't. That's the point."

"Then…why are they together?"

"Don' you _remember,_ boy? It was _your _suggestion."

"Huh? I told Hinata she should lock Neji in—wait a minute! I WAS JOKING! I didn't mean it!"

Yumi almost did an anime fall, but decided a simple sweatdrop was sufficient. "Uh…" she'd never been at a loss for words before. She shook her head. "Don't matter; they're in there now. Ya can't see her. Come back in a week or so, maybe they'll be out by then."

"A week?" he whined. She glared at him and he backed down with a sigh. "Okay…can I at least give her this?" he held up a bowl.

"What the hell is _that?"_ grunted Yumi, sniffing experimentally.

"Ramen!" he said enthusiastically. "Chicken flavor! They had 'roasted chicken' flavor too, but I didn't get that one because I wasn't sure what the difference was and I didn't know if she even likes roasted chickens but I know she likes regular chickens because we had chicken ramen and—"

"Stop the noise!" yelled Yumi, clapping her hands to her ears. Naruto looked a little hurt; Yumi sighed; she really didn't _mean_ to be rude, she was just…impatient. Okay, maybe a little rude. Mostly temper. "Okay, I'll give it to her," she said. When his face brightened to a huge grin and he bounced slightly up and down, she added gruffly "But ya gotta show me how to make it, so Neji ain't left out."

"Alright!" he exclaimed happily. "I love making ramen! I like eating it more though," he added as an afterthought.

"Whatever. Just come in," ordered Yumi. She opened the gate and then led him inside to the kitchen. There was a curious bright spot on the floor, looking about five times as clean as it should have been.

The next half an hour was decidedly…interesting.

"What's this?" Neji looked suspiciously at the steaming bowl, distaste threaded faintly through the ice in his voice.

"Ramen," said Yumi shortly. "An' are you two getting' along yet?"

Neji turned away from her with his bowl in hand and continued to ignore both women. Hinata shook her head sadly as she took her bowl from Yumi. "Thanks, Yumi-san," she whispered.

"That boy, Naruto, showed me how to make it," explained Yumi with a shrug. "It's easy; get used to eating it." More loudly, she added briskly "See y'all at dinner." She closed the doggy-door she'd used to pass food to them Kage: I don't know why there's a doggy-flap in an ancient scroll safe, just go with me! and left.

Yumi spent a rather irritating day looking after Hanabi, who just recovered enough from her illness to be at her most demanding without being able to really do anything. _That brat has gotta be the most spoiled, egotistical child I have ever met. Her ego is worse than her father's; at least Hiashi-sama will occasionally admit it when he's wrong! That girl is unbearable—especially when she's sick._

She needed a headache pill.

_Oh wait, I have to feed those two. Let's see, something simple…_

She brought them out their soup and tea, setting it inside the door since it seemed they were both taking a nap. She started to turn away, but Neji was suddenly there, face right up to the flap. Yumi twitched slightly, but looked him straight in the eye and said levelly "Yes?"

"Let me out," he ordered. "This is stupid."

Her headache sharpened considerably. _Damn it all._ "No." He glared at her. _I need that freaking aspirin; where'd I put it again?_

"I _said,_ it's—"

"I'm not lettin' you out of there until you take that damn stick up your ass out!" _Aspirin, where did I put it? I think I need two…_

"What? There _is_ no stick up my—HEY!" he hissed furiously, having realized what she meant. Yumi ignored him and walked away.

Hinata's P.O.V.

Neji had sunk into another brooding silence after his single question. It was still just as draining as the first one, but now what kept her going was the promise that he had unintentionally and unknowingly given her when he spoke—that he _could_ be worn down wih time, and all it would take on her part was patience.

Hinata discovered that she was an extremely patient person, which didn't surprise her as much as she thought it would. Unfortunately, Neji was also very _stubborn_. It was four days before he spoke to her again.

"Don't you want to get out of here?" he asked in a monotone.

"Yes," she answered at once. "I…" she'd started to say 'I miss Naruto-kun' but decided against it. "…I'm tired of being in here."

"Then why don't you tell Yumi to call it off?" he sneered. "She'd probably listen to _you_."

"No she wouldn't," defended Hinata. "Neji-nii-san, Yumi-san is very—stubborn. She won't…let either of us out until…"

"Until we start getting along?" he snapped bitterly, glaring at her. She dropped her eyes and nodded mutely.

Neji's P.O.V.

It wouldn't be so bad if she wasn't so damn calm about it. He was about ready to try breaking out, even though he knew it wouldn't work because of all the chakra infused within the stone. But whenever he looked at her, there she was, sitting and looking at him, or standing and stretching a bit, or sleeping peacefully like nothing was wrong. And that was _all_ she did, when she wasn't eating the food Yumi brought.

It was infuriating, that she was so patient. It was like none of his coldness had any affect on her. He hadn't known she was a patient person—actually he really didn't know much about her at all that he could avoid learning. Neji preferred to hate her from afar rather than get close to her.

_She was alwsy weak before, giving up or letting go when others would have held on. Why is she choosing _now_ to persist, _now_ to find the one ounce of stubborn-ness she actually possesses?_

Was it really that important to her that they be close?

_I'll never be close with her. Ever. I can't stand her, how she has no confidence even when she could actually succeed, how she always finds a way to continue and make the best of something anyway even when she almost always fails, how she never meets anyone's eyes, the way she is the weakest of the clan and I don't have a chance of inheriting at all, or even being her equal. I hate that her father is alive and mine is dead._

That was really what it boiled down to, in the end. He resented her weakness and yet ironic position of power, and that his father had to die while hers lived to rule over him. The fact that she had annoying shyness habits was only a bonus, an added irritation that made it easier to hate her.

Hinata's P.O.V.

It had been two weeks since Yumi had helped her to lock the two of them in the old scroll-safe; the upcoming sunrise would mark the fifteenth day, and it wasn't that far away. The whole ordeal was really wearing on Hinata, but she refused to give up or complain. Every time she thought of begging Yumi to let them out, the image of Neji actually doing something nice to her or for her because he felt like it (instead of Yumi forcing him to) changed her mind, or the thought that she would have at least one ally or friend amidst all the contempt and coldness in the Hyuuga household made her hope again.

And there were still the silver bells, chiming softly in the back of her mind whenever she thought of giving up, driving her on when she would have long ago failed.

She was so used to the silence by now that she wondered if she would be able to handle the noise of Konoha when she finally left. _Is this how Neji-nii-san feels every day? Just…wanting the silence? Being used to this? It could be comforting in a way, I suppose; peaceful._

But the peace didn't keep her from missing Naruto, his cheerful voice, or even Yumi's sharp temper.

"You want to know why I don't like you?" Neji's deep voice broke into the damp predawn quiet. His tones had never been particularly high, even as a child, and after he hit puberty it dropped _really_ low, deeper even than his uncle's, so that it surprised her whenever she heard him speak.

She didn't answer verbally, having gotten the impression long ago that her voice irritated him, but simply nodded instead.

"It's not just one reason. If that's what you were hoping, forget it," he said flatly

Hinata turned her head to look at him, slightly over her shoulder since she wasn't facing him. There was a calm, expectant patience in her silver eyes, open and telling him to continue at his own pace. "I—I know," she said quietly. "I…I didn't think it was that simple."

"There's one reason," he informed her with irritation. "You stutter _all the time,_ and it's annoying. You've never even gotten out a simple sentence without stammering. Not even a single word."

Hurt flashed slightly in her eyes but she remained silent, and that set him off a little more.

"You're so concerned that everyone hates you that even one harsh word upsets you. But you never _defend_ yourself!" he stopped himself before he actually started to _rant,_ something he never thought he would be in danger of doing. _It must be the confinement,_ he decided. _I've been stuck alone with someone for so long; that must be it._

"Th—that's why you hate me?" she whispered. In contrast to his, her voice was high, soft and breathy even when she was speaking normally. It was almost inaudible when she wasn't consciously trying to be loud. "B-because I…stammer?"

"Partly," he conceded, grumbling. "You shouldn't be shy—you should be strong and confident because you're a goddam Hyuuga!" He was warming to his subject, and before he knew it he couldn't stop himself; all the resentment started to pour out of him in angry words he'd kept back for years. "You're part of the fucking Main House, Hinata-_sama!"_ he emphasized the honorific bitterly, sharp as a blade. "You have everything you could ever want at your fingertips! And I have to sit here and take it and _know_ that if it weren't for the damn seal I could crush you without any effort _at all!_" By the end he was nearly shouting.

Hinata stared at Neji. She had never heard her cousin speak with any passion whatsoever in his voice, not once in the course of her life. And he had just poured his innermost thoughts out to her. Granted, they were hateful anti-Hinata thoughts that really hurt, but he'd still handed her the key to himself, the core to all his anger.

Somehow, 'I'm sorry' was the wrong thing to say. She knew it immediately, was dead certain that it would make things worse and drive them apart permanently.

Neji was just as surprised as his cousin at his outburst, but he was determined not to show it. Chest heaving slightly, he considered calming himself down but decided against it a split second later; there was still too much he wanted her to know, too much anger she needed to see. If she wanted to know why he hated her, fine—he was only too happy to tell her exactly what was wrong with her.

"You…you hate the whole Main Branch, then," she repeated to herself softly.

He nodded stiffly. "All of you—every single one. My father—" he clenched his fists and glared at her, although she wasn't meeting his eyes to know it. "My father _died_ for the Main House. And no one ever said 'I'm sorry' or asked if I missed him." _Not that I would have told them, but it would have been nice._ "Not once."

She bowed her head. Hinata was saddened by his words, sobered by what her family had done. For a few seconds, there was complete silence.

Then he spat bitterly "Aren't you going to say something _sweet,_ like you always do?"

"Like what?" she whispered softly. "I could say I was sorry and I would be telling the truth, I really am—but it wouldn't…wouldn't help you. I…I was never told my uncle…your father…died for the Main House. Th-they told me he d-died on a mission."

_Half-truths again; damn them all._ "Are you using ignorance as an excuse?" he snapped contemptuously.

"No." she looked up and met his eyes for the first time. And, for some reason…he believed her.

"I—I wish it was different, Neji-nii-san," she whispered soberly, looking down again. "I—I know it would it should have been you in my place."

Since that was exactly what _he_ had been thinking, there wasn't really much he could do except snort in anger. "Well, that won't happen."

"B-but you're _not,"_ she said, firmness in her voice. He glanced at her; there was conviction in her eyes. "And since I—I _am_ the heir, no matter how much Father h-hates it, I can…I can ask him…to do something for me. For you—to—to set you free, if that's really what—what you want."

He stared at her. She made it sound so simple, but his rage was spent and he couldn't find the energy to re-fuel his fury enough to tear her down. His shy, diminutive and very sensitive cousin had just listened to and withstood every hurtful word he could throw at her without making a speech, and then offered to help him. As though he hadn't wounded her at all, as though it were only natural that she should help him or try to make him happy.

No one had ever done that, and it shocked him.

There was silence between them. For almost several long heartbeats, neither of them moved or even breathed. Hinata was actually holding his eyes without fear for the first time since she was a very small girl.

_She's serious._ Another thought crushed that one with common sense: "He'll never do that," he said coldly, turning away and breaking her gaze and the moment.

"Give me a chance," she entreated, simple sincerity in her voice. "Please, Neji-nii-san." _I know it wasn't my fault that our family works this way, or that you were hurt and are still in pain because of it. But I want to make it up to you, to show you that I do care._ She didn't know if she was asking him to give her a chance to persuade her father, or to give her a chance as a person. Hinata wasn't sure it really mattered.

Again, a long silence. His back was to her and she couldn't see his face, although she somehow doubted there would be much of an expression on it anyway; that much hadn't changed since childhood.

"Fine."

And the chapter is completed! WHOO! Hurray, that took _forever!_ And Neji has to be feeling a lot better with that stuff off his chest! I mean come on, he's been holding on to it for like….dang how many years ahead is this fic? –spaces out trying to think- uh…FIVE! There we go! Five years post-canon, plus however-many since he actually GOT that seal on his forehead. That is one hell of a long grudge…although it's hard to really blame him…

And so, we've gotten that out of the way. And it was fifteen pages long on Word, too!

If anyone was wondering at the long time since I updated, I have been grounded and/or traveling all summer. Let's not get into detail on the grounded part, just leave it that I was told NOT to sneak out the window in the middle of the night again, but then I heard a noise and it sounded interesting and I wanted to explore and…you can fill in the blanks. Yeah…

Until next time—which I PROMISE will not be this long again from now (unless I sneak out again, of course –sweatdrop-) I'll be making up for the summer by writing like a maniac-typist now…bwa ha ha, beware all keyboards…

What, you all thought it ended? Well, it did!

But I decided to continue, and so posted the tenth chapter (which has now become 9½) because it was ridiculously short instead! Bwa ha ha…

4 Hours Earlier (Sakura's P.O.V.)

Sakura trudged tiredly back to Konoha, eyes downcast. It was more than exhaustion that made her irritable though; the entire mission had gone completely awry, one mistake and unexpected twist leading to another, and another, and another…and oh it had been a_ long_ two weeks…

All she wanted to do was report back to Tsunade, get paid, go home, and sleep for a few days. That wasn't too much to ask, was it? Report, get paid, go home, and sleep. She repeated it to herself like a mantra to keep her steadily on, all the way home.

_Report, collect, home, sleep. Report, collect, home, sleep…_

After what seemed like forever, she reached the Hokage's office. _Finally…_

She pushed open the door and stood in the reception-area. It looked exactly the same as it had when she'd left, and the comfort of the familiar sank in, making her sigh.

Shizune looked just as tired as she felt, but snapped awake from her late-night doze when she heard the door close as Sakura sighed in relief.

"Oh! Good to see you back," she said, stifling a yawn but looking genuinely pleased. "We were both getting a little worried! It's been two weeks since anyone's heard from you." That last was delivered with an accusing stare.

"Yeah…things got a little complicated," muttered Sakura. "Is Hokage-sama available?"

"You honestly think anyone else would show up at this hour?" sighed Shizune. "Ninja we may be, but I don't think anyone besides Gai-san actually rises _this_ much before the sun. Go right in."

"What kept you, Sakura-san?" asked Tsunade, leaning back in her chair to stretch. She had paperwork spread over her desk messily, which she covered when the pink-haired chuunin entered.

Sakura grimaced. "It got uncomfortable," she grunted tiredly.

"I need a full report, Sakura-san," said the Hokage, taking out a pen. "What happened?"

"Finding Mr. Mizu-guy-with-wave-scar-on-cheek was no trouble," she answered, taking the chair that Tsunade had offered with a pen-jerk. "It was actually pretty easy; a genin team could have handled it."

Tsunade's eyebrows rose, but before she could comment Sakura continued "I managed to get close enough to him to attempt assassination."

"Attempt?" echoed Tsunade delicately.

"Yeah—_attempt._ The bastard knew I was a Leaf chuunin, Hokage-sama." _He also seemed to think we were related—I think, anyway; that part was a little garbled._ "He waited until we were alone to inform me he knew, and then he offered to be an informant for the Leaf, since he wasn't the head of whatever organization he was babbling about—I didn't find out anything about the organization, sorry; there was no time, you might want to send someone back to look into it. But anyway, he wanted security against whoever _was_ the leader. He actually showed me the scrolls; practically threw them at me. Before I could say anything like a yes or no, he started babbling to someone in his head. I mean it, Hokage-sama, he was really talking to people who live in his head! Mizu was schizophrenic!"

"Was? He's dead? No, wait—you mean the mastermind we've been trying to capture for a year not only wasn't the big dog of the kennel, he was _crazy?_" repeated Tsunade incredulously. She sighed and looked resigned. "Well, I guess it _does_ explain several things…continue."

"Well, he started going on about 'stay back' and that someone was threatening him, and then he started choking. I mean, his eyes bulged out, he turned blue, he was clawing at his throat…choking. On nothing."

"And?"

"He clawed at his throat so much, he eventually wrapped his hands around his neck and actually strangled himself. Right there, just like that," she said tiredly, shaking her head and looking slightly disgusted.

"He…strangled himself…in a schizophrenic fit?" Tsunade seemed to have trouble taking this in. _We worked for a year trying to nail him, and then he had the nerve to go off the deep end and _throttle_ himself!_

"If I were making this up, I would have created a story that made sense. Yes, Hokage-sama, he choked himself. Very unexpectedly, too," she added. "And then, with the impeccable timing of all women—" and here she quirked the corner of her mouth slightly in irony— "His lover ran in, saw him strangled, me standing there holding him—I'd tried to stop him and hadn't let go of his hands yet—and started screaming."

"You didn't eliminate her?" asked Tsunade neutrally. She knew Sakura's dislike of taking life, and that it got in her way as often as it helped her.

"I knocked her out," said Sakura dismissively. "It didn't do any good; someone had already heard her. I was surrounded by people—I think I actually killed a few," she added sadly. "But I escaped. That was a week and a half ago."

"So where have you _been?"_ demanded Tsunade. "I _have_ come to expect something of you in terms of punctuality, Sakura-san."

"I said I escaped," repeated Sakura. "I went back to the hotel to grab my pack, and left."

"It only takes a day," Tsunade pointed out.

"I'm getting there," grumbled Sakura, irritable from sleep loss and the frustration of her mission. "Anway, they chased me."

"Who?"

"Mizu's friends." _All thirty-odd of them. Bastards…_ "They weren't shinobi of any kind, but they apparently had friends of connections who _are_, and getting back I had to go the really freaking long way—under retreat conditions, too!" she fumed. "It was like being at war again, Hokage-sama, only I didn't have a team."

"Exactly…_how_ long was this 'really freaking long way'?" asked Tsunade, getting her back on track.

"Try _anything-but-straight-home._ I circled completely around Fire country before ever even being able to _head_ for Konoha!"

"Why? It can't have been that difficult to give them the slip," she pressed incredulously. "I thought your chakra control was superior to that."

"So did I," she muttered, managing not to sound sulky. "They had someone better than me."

"…and?"

"I got him," she grunted. "Took ten damn days, but I got him." She stopped and sighed, tilting her head back. "That took a lot of chakra…I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I'm still tired from that confrontation even though it was yesterday. I apologize for my clipped mood."

Tsunade waved her explanation away, being rather touchy herself this early in the morning. "I understand that you're weary. I have a few more questions, and then you can collect your pay and return home."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. But…technically, I didn't kill Mizu. He took care of that. Won't that affect my pay?"

"You got the scrolls, didn't you?" said Tsunade patiently.

"Well…yeah," she sighed. "But that was only half…"

"More like three quarters," shrugged Tsunade. "And Mizu is dead. Whether by assassination or suicide, he's gone. You're being paid in full."

Sakura slumped gratefully, exhaling in a burst of air in a relieved sigh so profound that Tsunade instantly sharpened her eyes and stared intently at the girl in front of her. _"Thank_ you, Hokage-sama…I really appreciate that." She closed her eyes briefly.

_I didn't want to be pushy, but I'm flat-out broke. I don't have enough to buy an energy bar to eat, even—not even two coins to rub together._

"Is there a reason you need the money?" asked Tsunade quietly.

Sakura was so tired that she almost let something slip. "Yeah, I'm b—um, I wanted to buy some extra things," she said with a shrug, hoping her hasty cover wasn't too obvious. "I didn't feel right using what I've already got for them." _I need to get home, before she really gets curious. If there's one person in the world who's dangerous to me, it's the Hokage. I've never met anyone with her talent for finding secrets, not even Kakashi; he was ridiculously easy to fool compared to her._

She'd thought it would be hard to conceal her life from her team and teacher, but it really hadn't been; no matter how curious Kakashi or Naruto was, Sakura was a skilled actress when pushed. She had become very, very good at lying. She made it into an art—twist the truth, play with it and mold it to her own needs, leaving just enough of the reality to hold it all together.

She really did need to buy some extra things, too—like food. And, if this payed enough, maybe she would find herself a nice soft pillow too. It all depended.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow slightly; she had the sneaking suspicion that something was flying right over her head, leaving her with nothing but the faint sense of fluttering wings nearby as it escaped. Sakura was not telling her something…but the Hokage had the resigned inkling that the girl never would.

Sakura peeked again at the money in her hand. It was half again what she'd expected—with that much, she could survive quiet comfortably for almost two months, _and_ get her pillow!

The sky was starting to lighten to charcoal, the gray sky illuminating her way rather well. There would be color soon. Sakura normally liked to watch the sunrise, but today she just felt like skipping it altogether and sleeping. _There will be another one tomorrow; I'll watch that one. I'm more interested in watching my eyelids right now…_

Tired or not, she was still careful on her way home as she crept down the path. The Forest might be creepy to the rest of the village, but its eerie power had long ago ceased to intimidate Sakura; that wasn't what worried her. Lately, she had seen _people_ around her home, just flickers of movement and a faint spurt of chakra, then nothing. It was creeping her out, and she thought that They might be back again, hunting her again. They had been bothering her several years ago as well, but she'd hoped that They had given up…

There were few times she had been this grateful to see her hime (or at least the tree her home was in; her actual house was rather invisible from the ground), and she wasted no time in climbing it and deactivating the alarms and guards around it. Everything was undisturbed, she noticed relief. That is—until she looked at the door again.

_Oh…oh my god._

Yumi's P.O.V.

Yumi was rather nicely surprised when she greeted the cousins that morning. She'd decided to go out early, before the sun had quite risen; it was promising to be a spectacular sunrise, and if they were getting anywhere she had considered rewarding them by giving them a camera-screen to watch it through.

They were actually sitting closely together; the tension was gone from small Hinata and the aura of 'I hate you all, leave me alone so I can resent Fate and the world in peace and silence' was greatly diminished (not: _diminished,_ not disappeared) from Neji's demeanor. Some of his coldness had also dissipated, especially toward Hinata; he still seemed to dislike Yumi quite strongly, but the sturdy, gruff woman could hardly have cared less if anyone liked her or not.

"I take it it's time for you to be getting out, then?" she said mildly.

Hinata nodded and said "Yes please, Yumi-san."

"Neji? Ready to come out?" she asked.

He stared at her like _what do you think?_ but then stopped himself and nodded, keeping his gaze level.

_It worked, then. Good for you, little bird. Now it's time to stretch your wings._

Yumi unlocked the door and then left, adding over her shoulder "It's a beautiful sunrise today. Look at it before coming in."

Sakura's P.O.V.

The chakra marks over the door were…skewed. As though they'd been broken, and then replaced by someone of great skill and chakra specialty, but her aura wasn't present in the energy. Someone had managed to mimic her signature almost perfectly, though.

_Oh god, no. Please, no…_ but she already knew. They had returned, it had to be Them. She had been so careful, too—losing sleep because of her constant vigils and fanatically hiding herself until she was certain that not even Kakashi and his nin-dogs would have been able to find her, telling _no one_ where she was, not even the Hokage—this one or the last.

Biting her lip and pulling a kunai out of its holster, all exhaustion forgotten and long gone, Sakura reached up and touched the door. It swung open, eerily silent as always.

Inside it was dark, the light of the imminent sunrise doing almost nothing to illuminate the interior of her home. Sakura looked around carefully, warily, like prey that knows it is being hunted, helpless to stop it and unaware of _when_ it will be attacked. Which she had just become…

Trepidation building within her, she stepped inside. Everything looked normal. Nothing was out-of-place—and with the very little she had, she would have noticed if even one thing was different. Nothing was stolen or even touched.

_Did They just break the seals to scare me, and then leave?_ That seemed like a whole lot of effort for nothing—imitating someone else's chakra was next to impossible. _It's something They would do, though…just letting me know They found me, like a taunt…like a cat toying with a mouse._

She looked around again, searching. Nothing at all—_wait. There._

A piece of paper was on the middle of the floor, small and folded neatly. It was sealed with a pretty sticker; it looked like the kind of note a schoolgirl would pass to her friends or to a crush.

Tense beyond all belief now, Sakura hesitantly inched forward. Kneeling slowly, stiffly, she reached out with a shaking hand. Her fingers trembled so badly she almost dropped the note, and when she finally had it in her grasp she couldn't open it because of the violent fluttering.

She brought it to her face and inhaled slightly. It smelled of roses and sweet tobacco.

Forcing herself to calm down as much as she could (which wasn't very much at all), she concentrated on steadying her hand until she could peel the sticker off and open the paper.

It looked like a poem at first glance, written in verse with beautiful, flowing writing. Behind the words was the picture of a cherry blossom in full bloom, captured exquisitely in ink in a drawing that must have taken someone hours to perfect.

Her eyes scanned over the words and her heart stopped for a second. Covering her hand to stifle the terrified moan of despair, she let the paper flutter to the floor, overcome.

It floated with ironic grace to rest at her feet, words up to display the lovely flower, the beautiful art and the poem contained on the surface glaring up at her:

_Blood shining red_

_Choke and turn blue_

_My dearest Sakura_

_I'll see you soon_

* * *

Sorry for the delay--it was an interesting mix of getting grounded, losing my discs, and traveling ; 

Anyway, I have good news and bad news...good news: I am off all anti-psychotics! WOOT! (Um I'm not joking...) Bad news...the next chapter has not yet been started because, honestly, I'm STUCK. Please give me some ideas, I'm really blocked here...

* * *

And now I reply to those of you who took the time to review! -bows to reviewers- 

_understar_-san:  
Yeah, I felt like being evil and left off...plus it was taking WAY too long to get out. Love your description of the evil dude.

_neu chi no nai u_ -san:  
Here is the update! And now you are back to waiting...wish I could help you with that--oh wait I can...

_silver dark rose_-san:  
Thank you! (I scared her off...bwa ha ha I love being evil...)

_cocoa-latte_-san:  
I love those...expect nore -evil cackle-

_TrueLoveHurts_-san:  
You're going to have to find out, ne? -evil conspiracy look-

_MKRA_-san:  
Hahaha...don't worry Neji's not going anywhere...YET. (I am so glad he can't pop out of Naruto-world and squish me...I would be dead and this story would end)

_Hao'sAnjul_-san:  
He doesn't :)

_Keito-kun_:  
I think Ayame would enjoy helping you with that doll...

_xx-Tsumi-Chan_-xx:  
Sorry if you thought it was random. I DID try to set it up, but maybe it needed a little more time...and no, Sasuke will end up all by his lonesome unless I start to feel sorry for him, but he doesn't get Sakura. –thumbs nose at uchiha- 

_Magus Black_-san:  
Answer any questions?

_Youkaigirl-_san:  
Yep...but I thinkthe flame-happy fangirllearned now...-evil cackle-

_Kurenai Chinoumi_-san:  
Ya me too...ja!

* * *

Bye bye...give me ideas or I can't update! (note: I am **_not_** saying "review or I won't update" I'm saying I'm stuck and need help) I know where I want this to go, but I don't know how to make it happen or how to get it there; seriously, I need ideas. 

Kage


	10. The Flame Under the Frying Pan

Chapter 10: The Flame Under the Frying Pan

Hey, everyone. Not dead. Yay me. Don't kill me! It'd be messy...and besides, my imaginary friends would come squish you. After explaining that I don't own Naruto, just Yumi and this plot.

* * *

_I have to get out of here._

It was the only thought in her mind, all that could form in the whirl of chaotic near-panic that threatened to overwhelm her and burst forth at any second.

_Have to escape, get away--_

She stumbled backward, almost fell out of the tree--the sudden rush of adrenaline woke her mind, brought her abruptly out of the shock. Her analytical mind bumped off its crazy roller coaster and started whirling in more accustomed circles, processing fast.

_Food. Money. Toothbrush._

Sakura slipped her pack off one shoulder, opened it as she darted the five feet across the single room and started literally throwing things inside it, at one point just sweeping her arm across the shelf and letting things fall into her bag or on the floor, wherever they happened to go. The picture, the apple, Hinata's energy bars, the last cookie--a mental checklist went on in her head of things she had to do before running the hell away.

_Money--already in my pocket. Food--got all the bars. Picture--_

She slipped the picture in her bag, hardly slowing down and barely devoting enough critical brain function to it to hope that it hadn't cracked.

_Weapons--_she couldn't carry them all, not in this much of a hurry. It took _time_ to suit up, time she no longer had the luxury of. So she snatched the ones that were packed away, things that wouldn't slash her pack and/or her back as she carried them, and added a few extras where they'd fit on the holsters in various places on her body.

_Good-bye,_ she thought, throwing a last look around. Then she stepped out the door, hurtling into freefall and watching the branches whip by as she plummeted.

* * *

Once she started running, her mind started working again, but not by much. It was second nature to cover her trail and she did so, but she knew it was useless--if someone already knew she was there, all she was doing was slowing them down a little, and maybe preventing anyone new from finding out. Not that it mattered--she'd never be able to go home again. 

She didn't know where she was going _now._ In fact there were only two things she knew at all at this point: she had to get away; and she had no home.

She was so frazzled she almost missed the faint trace of chakra that subtely lanced through her senses. _Almost._

They were following her.

Hinata's POV

Stretching, she sat up in bed. For some reason, she just wasn't _tired. _She'd been trying to fall asleep for quite some time, but it just didn't work. It was such a beautiful sunrise, and all she really wanted to do was be out enjoying it.

So she gave up on her nap and went downstairs, waving good-bye to Yumi as she stepped outdoors. It was a good morning fora walk--crisp, cool, beautiful, and just damp enough that all the smells of the forest were amplified. Beautiful.

Sakura's POV

_How the hell did they find me in the first place?_ she wondered frantically as she was forced to take a painfully cautious detour around what she was pretty sure was an ambush (she hadn't seen anyone yet). For the first time, she had the time to think--running had cleared her mind that much, at least.

It didn't last long.

From nowhere there was a rope snapping at her ankles--Sakura avoided being pulled up in the noose, but barely.

More traps sprang, equally well concealed and successively harder to avoid. After the first one, however, something changed in her mind--she could think again.

Now that it wasn't a wild nightmare of shadow and vapor, now that there was something real and palpable that she had to work to avoid and she was back on "familiar ground", her mind took over at last and she knew what she could do. For the first time, she could do something about the situation she was in (besides run and hope to God she wasn't scurrying in circles, running from nonexistant nightmares), and her mind reacted by waking up at last. Faced with the worst, she found a coolness overtaking her, a wash of calm she hadn't expected. Her mind processed swiftly, coldly, her body knew what to do, all her training came easily from the back of her mind into action.

Now there was something to fight. So she did.

But that didn't stop the incessant, panicking voice in the corner of her mind from babbling in fright, or the single thought that refused to go away no matter how hard she concentrated on escaping or running:

_How did they track me here?_ she cut off a yelp as she dodged something that whizzed far too close to her ear. Furiously turning, the gears of her mind spun into overdrive, trying desperately to come up with _something._ Coming down from her leap, her feet stung--the skin hadn't completely grown back yet from the day she'd scraped herself coming down her tree. _Oh my god, how could I be that stupid--my _blood!

Of course--it was so obvious, so simple. The best way to track anyone: blood. She'd bled on the tree, left flakes of skin in the crevices of bark.

_Stupid, stupid, stupid--_

She managed to berate herself while concentrating on not screaming or being killed as a new trap made itself known.

_How many ambushes can these people set UP?_ she thought crazily.

* * *

They were getting harder and harder to avoid. Sakura cursed inwardly--she _knew_ her margin was narrowing, but apart from that first rush her mind couldn't come up with any way to open her options back up again. Life is a string of actions and reactions, and at the moment she was backed into the re-action corner with no way out of it any time soon. 

But she still hadn't _seen_ anyone.

Weapons, traps, the traces of chakra that told her she was completely surrounded at times--but never any confimation that a person was there. If it wasn't for the increasingly dangerous "accidents" that seemed to plague her run, she'd have thought she was going insane.

The sunrise was picturesque, perfect, stunningly breathtaking, the stuff of beautiful poetry. All Sakura cared about was that it made things easier to see.

Suddenly she _did_ hear a voice--but not the one she'd expected. In fact it was the _last_ thing she thought she would hear while on her harrowed flight to nowhere in particular.

She burst into the clearing where Hinata was humming to herself, hardly noticing the unmusical squawk that cut off when the startled Hyuuga saw her appear out of nowhere. "HINATA-CHAN!" she exclaimed, feeling an indescribable wave of relief crash around her.

Sakura almost hugged her--but instantly she knew she'd made a mistake. There was _too_ much relief in her voice, far too much enthusiasm. And Hinata had picked up on it.

"Sakura-chan?" Silver eyes crinkled in worry, concern played across the rosebud lips, and Hinata's head tilted to the side a little. "A--are you alright?"

"I'm _fine,_" laughed Sakura. Her voice was too loud. Quickly, she sought to cover her tracks. "I'm just really excited, that's all!"

"Why?" asked Hinata, confused. "What's going on?"

"I'm out for a run," lied Sakura cheerfully.

"O-ok," said Hinata, unsure. She was studying her, concern warring with puzzlement.

_If she keeps thinking, eventually one of those thoughts is going to be right._ Sakura was very well aware of the double jeapordy she'd just landed in. Out of the frying pan, into the fire--and the pan was still chasing her, somewhere. She didn't have time.

"It feels great!" she continued, as though unware that anything was wrong. She suddenly brightened up even more, bubbling over as though struck by a sudden idea. "Hey, I know--come with me!" she said excitedly.

"What?"

"Come on, come running with me! It's always more fun to go jogging when there's company!" Sakura took her poor friend by the arm and took off again, dragging little Hinata along whether she liked it or not. The dimunitive girl protested, stumbling, but after a few seconds she gave up and started running alongside willingly, although it she was trying to keep up more so she could question Sakura than because she really wanted to be running.

"What's going on, Sakura?"

"I told you, silly, I'm out for a run!" laughed the petal-haired kunoichi, flashing a bright smile and increasing her speed just a little bit.

Hinata's protests died and she sighed resignedly, deciding to just enjoy the run. It really _was_ more pleasant with another person, even if Sakura was acting a little weird.

_It must be because she's tired,_ she decided. _I mean, she's been on a mission for so long--wait a minute, when did she get _back_ from that mission? _She knew something was wrong. She just didn't know what it was. "Sakura-chan," she called urgently. "When did you get back?"

"Oh, last night," shrugged Sakura, running faster yet. She leaped nimbly over obstacles, although she was becoming steadily, slowly clumsier with each narrow avoidance. It was impossible to move easily at the speed they were taking--sooner or later, Hinata was sure Sakura was going to end up breaking her neck.

"Why didn't you stop by?"

"Tired," came the cheerful voice again. "Needed a little bit of sleep first."

"You could have slept over..."

"Had to eat too," pointed out Sakura.

"You're always welcome to eat at my house, you know that," sighed Hinata. "What did you do that you couldn't have slept over for?" she really _did_ miss Sakura, or she probably would have stopped herself from pressing.

"Oh, not much. I had to clean up a bit--a house can get a little dusty when you're gone so long!"

"Don't your parents clean it too?"

_CRASH_

Sakura tripped and fell hard. Rolling and bouncing, she yelped in pain and surprise as new scratches covered her exposed skin. "Ow ow ow!" she hissed under her breath.

Hinata stopped. "Are you ok?"

"Oh yeah, fine!" she grinned. "Just a bit of a bump--come on, I'm not even sweating yet!" she said cheerfully, springing energetically back up.

It was a blatant lie, but she darted ahead before Hinata had really processed that observation.

"Sakura, what the heck is going on? You're _bleeding,_" cried Hinata.

"Am I? Sheesh. I've been running so long, I guess I just can't really feel it anymore--you know how endorphins are," laughed Sakura, feigning sheepishness. She flipped her little braid over her shoulder.

"Why don't we stop?" suggested Hinata. "We can rest up for a while."

"Um, I have a goal in mind already," lied Sakura, thinking fast. "I want to get all the way into Konoha before I stop today."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah! Come on, it'll be fun! How are we supposed to get stronger if we don't push ourselves a little, hm?"

"Alright..."

She had a vague idea, that maybe if another person was with her the stalkers would back off, or at least take enough time to think of something new that she could escape. All she asked for was time.

By some miracle, her desperate prayer was answered--no more overt ambushes surprised her, although she detoured several times because she felt chakra signaling the presence of Them.

_Them_--that's what she was calling them in her mind now. It wasn't "_It_" anymore; no, now it had resolved at last into a palpable entity, with the note and the invisible stalkers. It had become Them, now. And she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

* * *

"Hinata-sama." 

That voice stopped both of them cold--Hinata because she knew the speaker, Sakura because the silver-eyed girl had grabbed her arm.

_Dammit, dammit, not now--_ she thought desperately, green eyes darting desperately around before the pleasant mask descended forcefully over her features.

"Neji-nii-san," she said, smiling. "I ran into Sakura-chan--well, she ran into me..."

Sakura smiled at Neji as he stepped out of concealment. "Hello," she said. Her voice was breathless, strained--she swore at herself mentally.

He only looked at her. For the first time she realized that she had to look like hell--and running for her life would not have helped the careless image she was trying to convey in the least. Her clothing was torn, her hair was full of foilage, her personal hygiene had suffered greatly during her prolonged retreat of nearly two weeks, she hadn't slept, and she was completely out of breath.

Surprisingly, it was him to break the awkward silence. "How was your walk?" he asked. He seemed to force the words out, like it was a great effort to ask that simple pleasantry, and it looked like it had left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Sakura stared at him, and for one moment she thought that maybe she _had_ gone crazy, and this was all some twisted nightmare conjured up by her poor battered mind. She wanted to laugh, cry, scream, and just sit on the ground doing all three at once for a very long time. Now.

Hinata seemed surprised too, but incredibly pleased and not at all confused. Just happy. "Very good! Thank you for asking."

"Is something the matter, Haruno?" He had caught the flicker of her eyes around their surroundings.

"Nothing at all," she smiled. "Why do you ask? Are you expecting trouble?"

His eyes were narrowing. Sakura felt very, very small suddenly, and knew she walked a very fine line. This was an obstacle she hadn't forseen, and what had seemed a blessing was rapidly turning into lighter fluid for that frying pan she'd so conveniently hopped out of.

"You ran into Hinata-sama...on your way back from a mission? Aren't you supposed to report first thing, Haruno?"

"I already did," she let a little ice creep into her tone, a slight edge. _Back off. Go back to being an icy, silent wall why don't you?_

"And you decided to find your friends before even resting up," he said scornfully.

"I was out for a run," she said defensively.

"Before sunrise."

"I'm a morning person. Besides, _you're_ up," she pointed out. "And Hinata was going for a walk! If you believe all the stories, ninja are supposed to be entirely nocturnal anyway," she pointed out cheerfully.

"With a backpack?"

_Fuck._ Sakura's smile didn't flicker. "I need the extra weight--it makes up about the same amount as traveling with weapons," she said smoothly, trying to get her wind back so her voice wouldn't sound strained.

No answer. Just his eyes.

Sakura held the smile determinedly, refusing to fail now. She had kept her mask on firmly for half her life--one boy wouldn't crack it now, no matter how good he was at reading people. No one was better than her on this battlefield, not even the illusion-breaking bloodline's prodigy.

Neji looked Haruno up and down. What he saw didn't agree with him--something was off. He studied her eyes, her sparkling gem-like orbs that were so expressive it was creepy. Lines around the corners; she hadn't slept in several days. Her dress was torn, there was old blood on her shorts, her hair looked terrible. In short, she looked exactly like she should have after coming home from a high-stress mission without a chance to rest. But that didn't make any sense. And she seemed genuinely cheerful, no less bubbly and enthusiastic than she ever was. Her complete lack of strain didn't make him feel any less weird about whatever it was, though--it only added to it.

"Sakura-chan, why don't you come over for a while?" suggested Hinata brightly. "You can have breakfast with us."

The awkwardness hadn't completely disappeared, but Sakura was adept at manipulating social situations. If she'd been functioning up to normal, there would have been no awkwardness to smooth in the first place. Since she wasn't, she simply pretended it wasn't there and smiled as brightly as was normal. "Yeah, that sounds great!" she agreed. "I actually am hungry, now that you mention it--wanna race there, since we've already been running?"

"One would think that _already running_ would be better reason for _not_ racing," said Neji neutrally. Too blandly.

Sakura smiled at him. "Neji-san, the point of running is to build strength. How can one get stronger if one quits halfway through, hm?"

The goad distracted him, and at last the tension vanished as he veiled a glare at her. Well, the old tension. Now the only discomfort was the silver glower trying to run her through like a katana. Nothing out of the ordinary.

* * *

At long last, Chapter 10 is up! Yes! 

Sorry again about the delay. I realize it was excessive. I really, really don't want that to happen again, and I'll try to make sure it doesn't.

_Kage_


End file.
